nurturenature is a small registered charity (Reg charity 11182363) focused on establishing our 1 acre garden as a therapeutic space that is not only a beautiful place that those of us lucky enough to live here benefit from but is a healing space available to other people in need of the healing power of nature, gardens and/or gardening. This feels particularly important in the context of the post Covid world as there is increasing awareness of the potential long term impact of Covid on mental and/or physical health. Having been unable to open the garden because of Covid we have been working hard to optimise the planting and accessibility as well as establish places to retreat to for those who simply want to sit with nature. Click on the ‘Blog’ button above to read the latest post.

We plan events in the garden with a view to people’s wellbeing benefiting not only from the creativity of the event but also from the healing power of nature. The benefits of nature to health and wellbeing, both physical and mental, are becoming increasingly widely recognised and this is reflected in the increased use of nature based therapies by mainstream medicine in place of, or alongside medication and other medical interventions. I have very much used the power of nature in my own healing journey which has been one of serious complex chronic disease which has prevented me from working and means I am wheelchair dependent. I am certain that without the garden and the benefits it provides for me I would be significantly less well both physically and mentally.

The blog is also an opportunity for me to share strategies I use to try and manage living with serious, complex chronic illness, which creates many challenges alongside being wheelchair dependent, positively, holistically and  with a sense of humour. Importantly this includes how I try to live mindfully, creatively, and with meditation practice as part of my daily routine. In addition recognising the benefit of nature I try to ensure I spend some time in the garden every day and really try and focus on individual plants, flowers, leaves, bark, birds with a sense of awe even if I have seen them many times before.

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image shows rose Ferdinand Pichard, a beautiful “striped” rose flowering in the garden in June 2019.