Willow Ward, Fulbourn Hospital

We were invited by The Friends of Fulbourn Hospital and Community to work with patients and staff on Willow Ward to redesign a courtyard garden on the ward. Staff had already cleared a tangle of brambles that had prevented patients from accessing the courtyard.

Willow Ward is a purpose built 18-bedded inpatient ward for men and women over the age of 65 who have an acute mental health illness such as depression, acute anxiety, psychosis or bi-polar disorder that requires hospital treatment.

Patients and staff see the area as a peaceful space to look out on or sit in and have come up with a huge number of ideas. There are some very knowledgeable gardeners on the ward! And there's a call for a ward pet - something a little out of the ordinary, see if you can spot what ........

Patients are going to be working on a four-panel ceramic plaque as centrepiece on the back wall too. Love the creativity in this ward!

Here are some of the flipchart ideas recorded in the session.

Plants being laid out ready for planting.

And a quick render of how it will look when mature. The central feature is a bird bath set in a cube of clipped box.