Plants and Minds, based in Dorset, was celebrated during a recent event on July 6 at Cherry Tree Nursery in Bournemouth, with supporters and donors gathering to hear about the charity’s 36 years of life-changing work through horticultural therapy.
The nursery currently supports around 80 adults each week living with life-impacting mental health conditions, offering them meaningful work via horticultural therapy in a supportive and pressure-free environment.
Norman Aish, patron of Plants and Minds, said: “My late father saw many of the same people being readmitted to hospital on a regular basis and thought there must be a better way forward.
Norman Aish, patron of Plants and Minds (Image: Plants and Minds)
“With a good friend Cyril Speller, they dreamed up an idea of a horticultural venue where people could come together in mutual support, to grow and sell plants under careful guidance.”
Mr Aish explained that his father, Reverend Canon Roslyn Aish, co-founded the charity in 1990 after witnessing repeated hospital admissions during his time as a pastor at St Ann’s Hospital in Poole.
The closure of large mental health hospitals in favour of community care in the 1980s had left many adults isolated and unsupported.
That early vision led to the creation of Cherry Tree Nursery, transforming a derelict site into what Mr Aish describes as “one of the finest for many miles around.”
He said: “Plants and Minds has saved many lives and enriched the lives of team members.
“It now costs £500 a day to keep a patient in St Ann’s, so this organisation has saved millions of pounds for the hard-pressed NHS.”
The event also marked the opening of a new polytunnel, dedicated to the late propagator Trevor Randall, who worked at the nursery from 1992 until his retirement in 2019.
Cherry Tree Nursery in Bournemouth (Image: Plants and Minds)
Maria Tidy, community liaison officer for Plants and Minds, said: “Last year, customers were asking us to grow more vegetable and herb plants, but we didn’t have enough room in an existing polytunnel.
“Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we now have a fantastic new polytunnel and we have dedicated it to Trevor, in honour of his work developing the propagation unit; to celebrate his life and to ensure that his legacy lives on.”
The ribbon-cutting was carried out by Bournemouth Mayor Roberto Rocca, who praised the nursery’s impact across the community.
Cllr Rocca said: “The charity is doing a great job, not just for its team members but for the whole community.
“I’m really impressed.”