Patients recovering from a stroke at Chapel Allerton Hospital (Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust) will benefit from the new Stroke Association’s Garden for Recovery, which opened on the site earlier this week (August 13, 2024).
The Garden for Recovery was the charity’s first ever show garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which wowed visitors in May this year. It was made possible thanks to funding from grant-giving charity Project Giving Back that funds gardens for good causes at the show. The garden was created by landscape designer Miria Harris – herself a stroke survivor – to support others to achieve their best possible recovery.
Since being on display at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the garden has been reconfigured and moved to its permanent location next to the stroke unit at Chapel Allerton Hospital, where it will provide a place for connection and rest for stroke survivors and their families. The garden is visible from the windows of the hospital, offering an inspirational view of windswept, resilient trees and wildlife-friendly plants.
After suffering a stroke in 2019 Miria was left with aphasia, affecting her ability to speak and form words properly. This experience, together with the stories of other stroke survivors, helped her to shape the garden as a place to support and inspire stroke recovery, both physically and mentally.
Miria reflects on the profound way in which stroke can change a life, with a traumatic response that can be long-lasting, creating vulnerability and anxiety. “I wanted to design an immersive, calm and optimistic space to support stroke survivors of all ages and needs. Somewhere for visitors to gently move around, to take time to stop, rest and reflect. It’s a place to be alone or connect with loved ones,” she explains.
How the garden helps
The garden is a welcoming, accessible, peaceful and sensory space for recovery. Colour and scent provide soft wayfinding for those with visual or mobility needs, while interconnected pathways offer different routes through the garden, with different areas to rest along the way.
Craige Richardson, Director of Estates and Facilities at the Trust, is delighted to have the Stroke Association’s Garden for Recovery at Chapel Allerton Hospital, saying it is “hugely beneficial” to patients and the environment. “Not only does the garden provide patients and staff with direct access to nature, which is known to have a positive impact on recovery and wellbeing, it also increases the biodiversity of the landscape and enhances green infrastructure, a building block for climate resilience that supports our longer-term Sustainability commitment,” he adds.
The garden opening was celebrated by stroke patients who were joined by Miria Harris and Emmerdale star Mark Charnock, who plays stroke survivor Marlon Dingle on the ITV show.
Over 88,000 people survive a stroke every year in the UK. The Stroke Association is the leading stroke support charity in the UK. From providing vital stroke support services, to funding pioneering stroke research, the Stroke Association supports stroke survivors to achieve their best possible recovery.
