We wanted to send a big thank you to the League of Friends for funding our gardening club again this year.
Megan Bahlmann is the therapist who runs the Gardening Club for Beech Ward stroke patients – in the Epping Forest Unit on the St. Margaret’s site. She reported to us last year on how helpful the group’s gardening tasks and activities are for patients working towards recovery.
Megan has now sent us more pictures of the vegetables planted by the group in the donated troughs – which are ideal heights for wheelchair patients – and using tools also provided by the Friends’ supporters. The patients have enjoyed being able to get off the ward and out into the garden – to plant, water and nurture items – which they can then make into a salad of the lettuces, cucumbers and tomatoes they have grown.
Another significant success has been to grow garlic plants; these are harvested, plaited – and then crushed. This has stimulated conversation amongst patients about garlic and its special smell!
Megan said: “When in the garden we make use of all the opportunities, including outdoor mobility practice, practice of speaking the names of plants and remembering the names of the plants we’re growing.”
Each patient has a set of goals that they're working on while in the group, to achieve their bigger rehab goals.
