Devon GP initiative featured on BBC Gardener’s World

A gardening initiative in Mid Devon, aimed at supporting patients’ wellbeing has been featured on the BBC’s Gardener’s World.

The ‘Growing Well Garden’ was developed by Dr Susan Taheri, a GP at Bow Medical Practice and gardening enthusiast, with the help of a team of local volunteers.

The project was set up with financial support from Bow Medical Practice, who also provided the land, £5,000 funding from Mid Devon Primary Care Network (PCN), and a personal contribution from Dr Taheri.

Drop-in sessions are provided on Tuesdays and Thursdays and patients can also be referred for one-to-one sessions in the garden, which is situated next to the Bow practice.

The green social prescribing project was featured on BBC 2’s Gardener’s World – the UK’s longest-running gardening programme – in October.

Dr Taheri said: “Having recognised just how valuable gardening was to me personally, it was something I wanted to share with my patients.

“A garden felt like a natural place to talk about well-being, connection, relationships, diet and physical activity.

“It removes barriers. If patients come and talk to me when I’m wearing gardening clothes and covered in mud, the conversations are more natural, rather than people feeling they’re being told something by a doctor.”

The idea for Growing Well Garden was a combination of Dr Taheri’s love of gardening and a wish to find an alternative way to engage with patients.

“A few years ago, I read a shocking study that showed isolation and loneliness carry the same risks for stroke and cardiovascular disease as a moderate amount of smoking,” said Dr Taheri.

“In a GP surgery, I can talk to people about their smoking risks but there’s not much I can do about their isolation. The garden felt like a natural solution – a place where we get the benefits of connecting with green space and nature but also connect with each other in a meaningful way.

“Growing Well Garden gives me an enormous sense of pride at what a group of individuals can achieve on a tiny budget with an awful lot of belief.

“And I hope something like this can become a bit more of a vision. It would be amazing to think that projects like this could exist alongside primary care in the future.”