Therapeutic Garden
The Garden's story
St Mary’s Therapeutic Garden in Lewisham is a peaceful retreat open to all. Established in 2017 by the Ladywell Unit and St Mary’s Church, it promotes mental well-being through gardening. The garden features perennial beds, wildflower meadows, an orchard, and raised vegetable beds, maintained by volunteers. Join us for gardening sessions every Tuesday from 1-3pm, or visit any day to enjoy the tranquility.
Refreshments for the volunteers.
Working in the shady area.
Please enjoy our two videos, one made by the Bible Society for their Chelsea Flower Show Garden in 2021, and the other made for Gardener’s World in June 2017.
Funding
A huge thank you to everyone who supported our Tesco Groundworks application in 2024. We were awarded £1000 which will go towards buying equipment suitable for children. Another big thank you goes to all those who supported our Aviva Crowdfunding application in 2023. We were awarded £5,300 which has already been spent on a second water butt to collect rainwater from the church roof. We're most grateful to both the Lottery and CIS Securities for their generous £10,000 donations, which have meant we've finally been able to renew all our churchyard paths, making them smooth and safe for everyone to use!
St Mary’s Churchyard project was made possible thanks to ‘National Lottery’
In 2024 a grant from the Lottery allowed us to replace the last broken and badly cracked footpath in the churchyard. This has made a huge difference to the appearance of the churchyard as it is now much more welcoming and accessible, and we want to welcome as many visitors as possible.
As there are no longer any pot holes and cracks, it’s made the conditions for volunteers gardening in the churchyard much safer, with no risk of tripping or falling while they are working there. Thank you very much to the Lottery.
Our Work
Below helpers are creating a pond which is well worth visiting. There are also new flowerbeds, some close to the churchyard wall that runs behind the Ladywell Playtower, and others that follow the wall beside St Peter’s flats. These have all brightened up the area a great deal, and regular visitors have started commenting on how much nicer it all looks.
Support the Garden
St Mary’s would welcome new volunteers, especially those who live locally, or those who simply enjoy working in the fresh air and who would like to help create something new in the churchyard. Gardening sessions take place once a month, 10.30-12.30, followed by refreshments!
Come and help us tend the therapeutic garden or
