Saxon Ward Garden Project – Antelope House, Southern Health Hospital

This photo is our garden now. We need your help to transform it!

Antelope House is Southampton’s acute mental health inpatient unit which provides support for adults in mental health crisis. Our aim is to create a beautiful garden in the outdoor courtyard attached to Saxon Ward, Antelope House. The courtyard is currently largely concrete and, sadly, a neglected space. We have made a start with some plants in small pots but would like to transform the space into a thriving garden tended to by our service users. This would be possible with your help. Our service users have told us this is something that they would enjoy doing and would improve both their mental well-being and physical health. Staff too would benefit from an improved environment and a therapeutic and purposeful activity to share with our service users. Family members would also be able to spend time in the garden when visiting their relatives. The small amount we have done already has sparked conversation and given some of our service users a sense of purpose and satisfaction tending to the plants and seeing them grow. It has added a splash of colour to a drab space.

Our service users, often from the most marginalised socio-economic groups, come into hospital at the darkest times of their lives and need a calm, therapeutic environment in which to spend their time in hospital. A beautiful garden would significantly improve the look and feel of the ward and create a shared project with staff. Lack of purpose and boredom are on-going issues highlighted by service users and a garden would go some way to help address these.

We have made a very small start with the limited funds that we have. It has been a success and we would love to do more . We would be grateful for any contribution you were able to make, big or small. 😊

Contact: Lizzie Fenner
Email: lizzie_fenner@hotmail.com Elizabeth.Fenner2@southernhealth.nhs.uk