Therapy garden up for Oxford in Bloom award

For the past three years, the Beehive Garden in Manzil Way, off Cowley Road, has picked up a gold award in the community therapy garden category of the Oxford Mail-backed contest.

Charity Restore has been using the garden to help people with mental health problems for the past 10 years, as well as opening it to the public.

Beehive recovery co-ordinator Charlotte Attlee said: “It is a retreat from the busy Cowley Road for the public, but also somewhere our mental health service users can come and work.

“There is a great therapeutic benefit of working in a small team where they have to co-operate and communicate; making plans and deciding what to do.”

About 50 people use the services every week and work on the garden.

Ms Attlee said: “Some people get very inspired and go off and really look after their own garden, or even think about it as a possible way into employment.”

The contest gave users something to focus on throughout the year. Ms Attlee said: “When we are looking at an area of the garden, we are always thinking ‘it will be great to have it looking good for Oxford in Bloom’ and it provides a real impetus to raise standards.

“It's also very nice to win something, and a lot of the people who are not likely to win anything as an individual get a real boost to get a prize as a group.

“Everyone makes a contribution and it carries us through a lot of the year.”

The small garden has a cafe, and organically-grown herbs from the garden are used in the food sold there.

She said: “It is a great competition and it inspires people to garden to a high standard because they know they will be judged against others.”

Other entrants in the category include the garden for the sheltered housing at Jackson Cole House, St Thomas Street.

Entries for Oxford in Bloom close on Saturday, July 2, for schools and on Sunday, July 10 for other categories.

For deatils of how to enter follow the link below.