Interview with Lucy Thorpe, Head Gardener at Horatio’s Garden South West
In the coming months, we will have the opportunity to chat with some extraordinary head gardeners from Horatio’s Garden - one of the charities supported by NGS - this remarkable organisation is dedicated to designing and maintaining stunning gardens within NHS spinal injury centres, aiming to enhance the mental health, wellbeing, and recovery of individuals impacted by spinal injuries.
We have had the pleasure of speaking with Lucy Thorpe, the Head Gardener at Horatio’s Garden South West, located at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre in Salisbury District Hospital. We explored her role and gathered some valuable gardening advice!
What initially drew you to gardening as a career?
Gardening and in particular social and therapeutic horticulture are a second career for me. I have always enjoyed being outdoors and in nature and have found gardening at my allotment a huge support to me at difficult times in my life.
I enjoy the seasonality of working in a garden; it is always evolving and changing, throwing up new challenges but equally providing such fulfilment and delight. It is extremely rewarding supporting different individuals with their mental and physical wellbeing through time spent in nature and gardening.
How do you stay up to date with the latest trends and innovations in horticulture?
I still enjoy reading a horticulture magazine for the latest news and trends however increasingly I turn to social media influencers, through platforms such as Instagram, for short bursts of inspiration and information.
What’s your favourite part about your job as Head Gardener at Horatio’s Garden?
I feel incredibly privileged to be able to nurture our beautiful sanctuary here at Horatio’s Garden South West at the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Treatment Centre, Salisbury. I enjoy seeing the pleasure and enjoyment it brings to the patients and their families coming to terms with life changing injuries. I love being able to share my passion for nature and gardening with the patients through regular garden activity sessions.
About The Garden
What is the history of the garden, and how has it evolved over time?
Horatio’s Garden South West was the first Horatio’s Garden and opened in 2012. Seven-time RHS Chelsea Gold Medal winner Cleve West designed the garden.
Cleve was already familiar with the spinal centre as a close friend had been a patient there. During the design process he used the original research from Horatio Chapple (who the charity is named after) and consulted widely with patients, families and hospital staff. Cleve is still involved with the garden, visiting every year and working closely with me. As ever with gardens some plants outgrow the borders and some disappear altogether so each year we look to divide perennials and add in new plants.
Do you have a favourite part of the garden or something that works particularly well?
Our garden has a very naturalistic and wildlife friendly planting scheme and it is that thought and consideration to the natural users of the garden that I enjoy the most. We share the garden with so many birds, insects and bees which in turn brings a lot of interest and delight to our patients and their visitors.
© Joshua Humphrey
There is so much life and vibrancy within the borders.
What changes do you see in your garden during winter?
Horatio’s Gardens work hard to provide all year round interest and colour even in the depths of winter. In Salisbury we allow a lot of the plant foliage to remain in the borders throughout the winter to provide wonderful structural interest as well as a source of food for wildlife, with seed heads and a habitat for overwintering insects.
We have the delight of newly emerging bulbs as we go into January and February with snowdrops followed by daffodils. The evergreen structure of the garden comes to the fore once again and the shrub, Sarcococca confusa wafts a fragrance of sweet vanilla throughout the garden.
Gardening Advice/Design
What would be your five top planting suggestions for adding a sensory element to a garden at home?
I believe when it comes to the sensory enjoyment of our gardens it’s a very individual experience and we are all personally drawn to different plants.
So wherever possible add into your garden plants that bring you pleasure and at the same time combine to give you interest throughout the year.
Salvia Nachtvlinder will give you flowers for close to six months of the year and as well as having blackcurrant scented leaves they are a magnet for bees.
Sweet peas are a must for me. Evoking so many memories of a childhood vegetable garden as well as having an intoxicating scent.
Grasses provide wonderful late summer interest and add fabulous contrast and texture to a border. Calamagrostis brachytricha is a favourite with wonderful tall flower plumes.
Alliums bring pops of purple or white colour throughout May and into July if you chose different varieties of bulbs to stagger the display. Perfect to plant in late autumn/early winter.
Dahlias though have to be a non-negotiable in my garden. There are so many colours and varieties to choose from and each year I add to my collection. I enjoy them in containers and then planted in a cut flower border where I can pick them for vases or bouquets to give as a gift. They will give you flowers well into November if we don’t have a frost.
Who are your gardening (or non-gardening!) heroes?
Firstly, Monty Don, also a career changer, I admire how he has openly spoken about how gardening has supported him with his mental health over the years. It was this openness that helped me to understand how powerful nature is at supporting our minds and bodies to find a sense of calm and restoration. It led me to explore further the therapeutic benefits of gardening and ultimately enable me to gain the knowledge and experience to bring these benefits to others.
Secondly the wonderful Sparsholt College lecturer, Chris Bird, who is infectious in his love of all things horticultural. His depth of knowledge is so extensive and he always has time for his students, past and present. Encouraging us to believe in ourselves and providing us with great learning experiences and opportunities.
Finally it has to be my parents who have always been keen gardeners and surrounded me in my early life with wonderfully vibrant flower borders and vegetable gardens which allowed gardening to surreptitiously seep into my life.
Horatio’s Garden South West opens for regular tours and the National Garden Scheme every summer. horatiosgarden.org.uk/garden-tours
