About Hope Springs Gardening

"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow"

(Audrey Hepburn)

Hope Springs Gardening uses social and therapeutic horticulture to support people experiencing mental health issues, particularly those experiencing grief. 

“Social and therapeutic horticulture is the process of using plants and gardens to improve physical and mental health as well as communication and thinking skills” (Thrive UK) 

Hope Springs Gardening aims to support individuals by restoring peaceful connections with the rhythms and patterns of the lifecycle to provide hope for the future

Services

01.

Private & Group Sessions

Using social and therapeutic horticulture techniques to support participants and to enable them to learn new things

02.

Public Speaking

About social and therapeutic horticulture for mental health, grief and wellbeing

03.

Gardening Workshops

For grief and bereavement organisations and mental health charities.

This Is Why

Our Knowledge Is Key

What We Know

Scientific studies show that working in or with nature is beneficial to our mental and physical health.

Benefits of gardening (Thrive UK)

  • improved physical health through exercise
  • improved mental health through sense of purpose and achievement
  • connection with others - reduction in feelings of isolation or exclusion acquiring new skills
  • feeling better for 'just being outside' and connecting with nature

What We Offer

  • Private or group sessions using social and horticulture therapy techniques to support participants and to enable them to learn new things

  • Public speaking about social and therapeutic horticulture for mental health, grief and wellbeing

  • Gardening workshops for grief and bereavement organisations and mental health charities

14 years of experience in gardening and social and therapeutic horticulture

Eleanor Wroath, our owner, has a certificate in Horticultural Therapy from the Horticultural Therapy Institute in the USA and is currently working as a freelance support worker in a community garden, supporting people experiencing mental health issues. She is especially passionate about using gardening for therapeutic purpose for people experiencing bereavement and has run gardening workshops for families and individuals experiencing grief. She has a RHS Level II qualification in practical horticulture

Testimonials

"🌼Eleanor Wroath singlehandedly inspired an entire community to build and nurture a young school’s learning garden. Many years have passed; the harvest remains bountiful, the landscape picturesque, and the garden continues to touch the lives of all who are immersed in its beauty. It is a living legacy of a woman who helped each of us to experientially discover the healing power of nature."
Dr. Pamela C. Fiander
Head of Chatham Day School (2001-15)
New Jersey, USA
“Eleanor connects with people immediately and they trust her. I’ve observed her in many gardens with groups, families and individuals of various ages beginning with children through adulthood. They thrive with her guidance, empathy and professional skill. Her perceptiveness and encouragement of others is key to improving wellbeing"
Sandra Zelley
Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Horticultural Therapist
Dallas, Texas USA
"Eleanor came to help us in “Alice’s Garden” at Armstrong in 2016. She quickly became an asset to the garden team, and soon started alerting students, faculty and the wider school community to the benefits for wellbeing and mental health that gardening can bring. It gave us all a new and fresh perspective."
Caroline Trotman
Dallas County Master Gardener
Co-founder of and current garden teacher in “Alice’s Garden”, J.S Armstrong Elementary School,
Dallas, Texas USA
"'Eleanor has all the skills needed to be a successful Horticultural Therapist - good plant knowledge , experience of supporting people with a diverse range of needs , in depth training and a genuine caring nature. Eleanor brings cheer and hope to those she works alongside and a passion for growing plants and people."
Alan Holland
Service Manager TWIGS Community Garden, Swindon
"'In the autumn of 2020, Eleanor facilitated a gardening for grief workshop on a Retreat for bereaved families entitled Reflect, Restore, Renew held in a beautiful centre in Buckinghamshire. Her one-hour session provided an immensely useful and practical experience for the bereaved parents there of planting bulbs to enjoy in the spring. The group took home what Eleanor referred to as a bulb lasagne, which was different sized spring bulbs in layers in an individual pot which would flower from January to March. The feedback from the mothers and fathers was that they found it really uplifting to see a parent who had had a significant loss of a child using her gardening and belief in nature to manage life in the future. In the session, she exhibited very much the ethos that to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. Taking something home to nurture, in memory of their child, meant a great deal to the mothers and fathers."
Jenni Thomas OBE, Founder of Child Bereavement UK
Nicki Whitworth, Founder of SLOW Charity (Surviving the Loss of Your World)
Joint Facilitators of Reflect, Restore, Renew Retreats
"We are so grateful to Eleanor for expertly running supportive sessions in person for the families we support in the UK and also virtually for families affected by SUDC across the world via our global partner organisation. These sessions mean so much to bereaved parents because Eleanor uses her expertise, openness and warmth to compassionately articulate the benefits of gardening through grief and give others hope when they need it most. Eleanor also generously volunteers her time and expertise to support a memorial garden for children affected by SUDC."
Nikki Speed PhD
Co-Founder and CEO of SUDC UK
National registered charity for Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood
If the world we encountered on a daily basis had the intelligence and heart of Eleanor, it would be a wonderful place to live at all times. She is uniquely gifted and always brings her “A” game of total dedication to connect with those around her. I experienced Eleanor’s giftedness as I got to know her in the school garden where we worked together. Her energy is contagious and her compassion for gardening and people is inspiring.
Jana Beth
Eidson Dallas County Master Gardener Co-founder and current garden teacher in “Alice’s Garden” at J.S.Armstrong Elementary School, Dallas, Texas

Useful Links

Social and therapeutic horticulture

Contact Us

Telephone: 07367120122

Email: hopespringsgardening@hotmail.com 

Hours:

Monday – Friday: 9am – 3pm
Saturday: By appointment
Sunday: Closed

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