St. Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight, England, has formally opened the new Four Seasons Garden at St. Mary’s Hospital, Isle of Wight, England. The garden was created specifically for any person with dementia to use and visit together with their family, friends or carer when they are receiving any form of healthcare treatment at St. Mary’s as an inpatient, outpatient, or as a visitor.
The Four Seasons garden features raised flowerbeds, special handmade outdoor furniture, and artwork. According to Paula Smith, Shackleton Ward Sister, St. Mary's Hospital, patients with dementia can get involved in weeding and watering the plants and the central raised bed makes it easy for those with mobility difficulties to participate and enjoy the garden.
The garden design and brief was coordinated by the Isle of Wight NHS Trust’s Healing Arts Programme and the consultation team included the Shackleton healthcare team, West Wight Alzheimer’s Café, and Age UK’s West Wight Memory Club. The project team included CAR Gardens (garden construction); Clifford J. Matthews (furniture); GloryArtGlass (glass window designs and glass sculpture); and Seahorses Studio (mosaic artworks).
The construction cost was funded by the King’s Fund, London, in partnership with the Department of Health and the artworks commissioned with a grant from the Arts Council’s ‘Grants for All’ National Lottery funded scheme.
