Aim

A community gardening project with recovery & referral pathways for those with mental health issues to engage with nature & local people.

Blossoms of Hope was created by Jacquie Roake and here is her story:

Jacquie's Story

I have had a long background in horticulture, training at Hadlow agriculture college before becoming a plant manager in supermarkets and independent garden centres for over 16 years. I was in one of those privileged positions where I always loved my job. 

After a relationship breakdown in 2017, I found myself unexpectedly homeless, I lost everything. I lived in a caravan in my friend's garden, then when my mental health deteriorated, I was cared for by family. I was eventually diagnosed with depression and anxiety and strong medication has left me with short-term memory loss.

I then found a local garden group, joined them, and made great friends. In April 2018, when I started to feel more confident and comfortable, we started Blossoms of Hope and a whole new chapter in my life started, and hope has continued to blossom. 

Growing our dreams nicely

We have established 2 community gardens to date with help from the National Lottery, and our third is developing nicely on the site of the Dover Counselling Centre in Dover which is what we are seeking help to create. Here we are providing recovery pathways for people who have been treated for mental health issues or for whom working in the garden is a preventative activity to support their mental health from deteriorating. The Counselling Centre has seen positive outcomes from this approach and is hugely supportive of what we are doing for the local community. 

Our first garden was a community garden on the Millfield Road Allotments in Faversham. In 2019 our Faversham garden won two awards, silver for our wildlife garden with the Kent Wildlife Trust, and from Britain In Bloom in collaboration with the RHS, we received a level 3 advancing. The sense of pride that brought to the core team and to all our volunteers and community members was immeasurable! We want more awards for our communities to bathe in that sense of achievement and creation and ultimately to improve their local environments where they feel a part of it.

Reaping the benefits

COVID 19 halted our progress for a while but what I really noticed was how quickly my mental health deteriorated again when I did not have the constancy of a garden and the connection of like-minded souls to work alongside. Others felt the same. Nurturing, creating, being in the outdoors, feeling connected to the Earth and people is hugely important to our mental health, with an extensive evidence base to back it up, including the '6 ways to well-being' promoted by Public Health. Adults who work in our gardens have improved confidence, better coping skills, and a sense of purpose. So we have worked very hard to open up our gardens again with social distancing and other safety measures in place, so people could enjoy their happy place again. 

What's next?

My dream for the charity is to have a Blossoms of Hope community garden for good mental health in every town in the South East, to offer help and advice to anyone who needs it.

It is a place where you can talk openly about your own mental health in a safe and supported environment, you can also take part in our woodworking sessions or let go of your creative side with the art therapy sessions.

This project successfully funded on 12th April 2022