Nature’s way of making you feel better

Maggie's Oldham at the Royal Oldham Hospital

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GETTING lost in nature and relaxing in a year-round beautiful garden will help patients visiting Maggie’s Oldham Cancer Centre to feel better about themselves and their treatment, says the centre’s landscape designer.

London-based designer Jinny Blom has unveiled the first plans for the garden at the new centre, set to be built at the Royal Oldham Hospital. Maggie’s provides free practical, emotional and social support for people with cancer and their family and friends.

The impressive gardens, which surround and run beneath the building, will feature a mixture of vibrant trees and flowers that bloom at different times of the year.

Blom said: “I am very excited to be designing a garden for Maggie’s. It’s something I’ve wanted to get involved with for a long time.”

Jinny, originally a psychologist, said: “When you feel ill or have had bad news you often want to get away from the clinical environment of a hospital. Nature can play an important part in improving health. I wanted people who visit the Maggie’s garden to be able to immerse themselves in nature and feel the benefits of fresh air.

“We have designed the garden to complement the designs of the building, which features trees growing up through the centre of the building and by adding trees outside to create a canopy where people can sit and hopefully relax.

“Birch trees were chosen as they collect drops of rainwater and mean that wildlife, including sparrows and other birds, will be attracted to the area.”

She said the garden’s design means a variety of different flowers and floral smells will be seen over the entire year

The garden will also feature “open air rooms” where visitors can hide among nature, unseen by anyone outside. The garden will also be open to all hospital parients, not just Maggie’s users.

Laura Lee, chief executive of Maggie’s, said: “Gardens are an integral part of our centres, each one carefully created to be a welcoming extension of the inside space. Jinny’s Oldham design beautifully complements the building.”