​Stroke garden blooms thanks to Dobbies donation

A local garden project which supports stroke survivors throughout their recovery has been selected to receive an in-store shopping spree from Dobbies Garden Centre in Birtley as part of the store’s Here We Grow scheme.

Meg Stevens, Community Champion at the store on Durham Road, chose the Life After Stroke Garden at Marquisway Day Centre, to come along to the store and purchase tools and materials to help the garden flourish.

The Life After Stroke Garden was created by the Stroke Association in partnership with Thrive and Momentum in 2014, for the charity’s service users to enjoy alongside their carers and family members.

Formerly a derelict area, around 15 people now tend to the garden each week, where there’s a greenhouse enabling people to work in teams to plant seedlings. Outside, people can tend to a series of raised beds with flowers, vegetables and herbs and also enjoy a pond and peaceful memorial area. Thrive also runs weekly workshops with the attendees to help them get the best out of the garden.

Meg said: “I initially visited the garden to discuss the possibility of donating some plants and equipment, however I was overcome with emotion at how much effort was going in to the garden and chose them to receive the in store spree. It’s clear just how important the garden is to the group. We’re so pleased to be able to make a difference to the project and enable even more people to enjoy gardening as they come to terms with a life after stroke.”

Ally Miller, Community Integration Programme Coordinator at the Stroke Association, added: “The donation will go a long way in helping stroke survivors and their family members to enjoy gardening as part of their recovery, and we’re extremely grateful to Dobbies for selecting us to receive the materials and equipment.

“Gardening can help stroke survivors gain satisfaction by growing flowers and vegetables, and also helps them to interact with others to improve confidence and reduce social isolation. An everyday activity such as gardening can help with motivation and reduce anxiety, as well as providing exercise, so it will be great to see our service users getting putting the donation to good use.”

Sharon Bartle, Thrive Horticultural Therapist at Thrive Gateshead, said: “The money will allow us to buy a substantial amount of various plants to help us put a ‘purple splash’ in the colour scheme of the garden to promote the project. We will also purchase a range of planters to provide us with extra planting areas which will offer more opportunity to tailor the practicality of our sessions to individual abilities. We are very grateful for the donation from Dobbie’s which also allows us to purchase more tools, gloves, seeds and compost.”

The Life After Stroke Garden is based at Marquisway Day Centre in Gateshead and the sessions run each Thursday between 9am-12:30pm. For more information, contact Ally Miller or Steve Simpson at the Stroke Association on 0191 497 8320. For more information about stroke, visit www.stroke.org.uk or call the Helpline on 0303 303 3100.