Welcome to our latest newsletter

Thank you for being a supporter of Trellis, we’re so grateful for your involvement in our work. It’s a privilege to bring you the latest updates, inspiring stories, and ways you can get involved in helping more people improve their health and wellbeing through gardening, plants and nature connection.

18^th May: World Therapeutic Horticulture Day (WTHD)

The 3rd World Therapeutic Horticulture Day was a great success with significantly increased worldwide participation and promotion, shining a light on the profession and the amazing work happening in the sector. We shared some wonderful stories from therapeutic horticulture practitioners through our social media channels and on the dedicated page on our website. We happily spent the day itself at a wellbeing event in the grounds of Scone Palace, sharing the mindful joy of making herbal bath bags from garden harvests. In the week leading up to WTHD we welcomed three inspiring speakers to share their research findings, knowledge and learning. These seminars can now be found on our website for your viewing pleasure. All of the activity and engagement in WTHD helps us inch closer to recognition for the practice and profession of therapeutic horticulture, which in turn will mean more people can benefit.

14th March: Annual Conference

The 15th Trellis Annual Conference took place on the 14th March 2025 at The Bield near Perth.  It was heartening to see so many like-minded people connecting with their peers and learning from each other and experts in the field. Our thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund for their support of this work and to Dr Carly Wood of Essex University for her research summation on Therapeutic Gardening and its effectiveness in treating mental ill-health.

“It was a pleasure to reconnect with many old friends and forge new connections. The day was absolutely brilliant, and we are incredibly grateful for the effort and dedication you all put into making it a memorable experience. The workshops were both insightful and engaging, and the visit to the inspiring Southton Smallholding was truly a highlight. The workshops and hands on activities offered valuable learning opportunities, promoting both well-being and a deeper appreciation for sustainable practices.”

• Support to improve mental wellbeing: Thanks to funding from The Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults, three groups in Perth and Kinross are enjoying a series of seasonal therapeutic gardening sessions that are helping bolster their mental health. Benefitting organisations are: The Salvation Army Lifehouse which helps provide resettlement support for homeless men over 16, Isla Court Sheltered Housing for people over 65 and Alzheimer Scotland’s new Brain Health Centre for people and their families affected by dementia. It’s so good to be able to garden alongside the people in these groups whose enthusiasm and willingness to have a go at gardening has really moved us. As well as participants learning new skills, gaining in confidence and reducing their feelings of isolation, staff and volunteers at each of the partner organisations are increasing their gardening know-how with our support so that they can continue to offer gardening opportunities when our project comes to an end. We’ve already had some great feedback and are seeing such positive changes when out in the gardens.

“I’ve had a lovely afternoon, a lot, a lot of laughs.” “I’m happy”

• Helping children with additional support needs in East Lothian: Thanks to your donations, we were able to run several sessions with a nurture group at a primary school in East Lothian for young children with various additional support needs. We were helping to improve their wellbeing through regular gardening activities as part of their school day. There is good evidence showing that children learn and manage their emotions better when in a green space and that this effect endures when they return to class. The sessions were very well received by all involved and the children had a great time exploring the natural world.
  
  
• Glasgow Ovarian Cancer Support Gardening Session: We were delighted to continue our support of cancer patients and their families with a visit to the Glasgow Ovarian Cancer Support Group, providing some much-needed respite as we took a light-hearted exploration of the senses through herbs and explored ways to plant them and incorporate them into daily life.

“lovely to use senses – so therapeutic and takes you out of your thinking head – thank you.”

Visit from First Minister, John Swinney - We were delighted to welcome First Minister and local MSP, John Swinney to Scone Palace recently to share something of our work with him and tell him about the amazing network of therapeutic horticulture groups across Scotland. Hosted by Trellis patron, Head Gardener at Scone and Beechgrove Garden presenter, Brian Cunningham, along with Trellis Chair Sir Andrew Cubie, we took a walk to the grounds of the historic Walled Garden where we hope to develop exciting new work with partners at Scone Palace. The First Minister  was impressed to hear about the work of the 530 therapeutic horticulture groups across Scotland and supportive of our ideas to work with Scone Palace on projects that will bring so many health benefits.

NHS Scotland Event – CEO Fiona Thackeray and Training and Standards Officer, Emma Martindale, presented at the NHS Scotland Event in Glasgow on Monday 9^th June – sharing the power of gardening as a social prescribing secret weapon in the fight against spiralling NHS costs and the health difficulties facing people right across the country.

Podcasts – Fiona joined Cath Manuel on her Australian Podcast, The Wellbeing Garden, in her May edition. Why not grab a cuppa and have a listen as Fiona shares her journey into Therapeutic Horticulture, how Trellis came to be and her drive to establish World Therapeutic Horticulture Day.