At Centre for Mental Health, we recognise the importance of people’s journeys with their mental health.
That’s why we were delighted when we were approached to be the charity sponsor of a show garden inspired by the topic of mental health at this year’s RHS Hampton Court Palace flower show.
While so many of us experience mental health problems, it is often difficult for people to put words to their journey. RHS Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner, Frederic Whyte, has designed a garden which captures the experience of many who struggle with mental health problems.
‘On the Edge’ is an allegorical garden that tells the tale of a journey from mental distress to acceptance and self-understanding. The garden physically evokes an experience of mental health difficulty and the many journeys that people take to cope with their condition and manage their life.
Celebrating our journeys: 1,000 conversations
We want to shine a light on mental health by sharing the unique stories of people living with mental health problems, and encouraging others to do the same.
During the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower show, we’ll be inviting visitors and others to take part in 1,000 conversations about mental health, to recognise the value of our experiences and increase understanding of the individual recovery journeys so many of us are on.
Inspired by Frederic Whyte’s show garden (built by Charles Benton), we want to encourage people to have a conversation about mental health – what needs to change; how it has affected us or someone we love; how we can support people to have better mental health; or even how gardening could support our wellbeing.
You can follow the progress of the garden via Twitter and Facebook – we’ll bring you further updates about the garden in the next few months.
Through ‘On the edge’, we’ll show that a brighter, fairer future for people with mental health problems is possible.
