A Musselburgh-based art therapy charity’s participation in this year’s Chelsea Flower Show in London has been highlighted in a motion tabled at the Scottish Parliament by Martin Whitfield MSP.
Teapot Trust, at Eskmills House, will be the only Scottish charity to display a garden at this year’s show, which is run by Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and gets under way on Monday.
The charity’s Elsewhere Garden guides children and young people living with the pain and stigma of a chronic health condition to a safe space.
It reflects the art tools Teapot Trust uses to take a child’s worrying thoughts “elsewhere”, with unusual, anthropomorphic-like trees contributing to an atmosphere of fantasy and imagination within the garden.
After the show, the garden, made possible by a grant from Project Giving Back and designed by garden design firm Semple Begg, will be relocated to its permanent home at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children, where Teapot Trust has been working in partnership to support families in need for the last decade.
Sarah Randell, CEO of Teapot Trust, said: “Having a show garden at RHS Chelsea gives us a national platform to increase public understanding of how chronic illness impacts young lives and why art therapy is such an effective clinical intervention.
“Ultimately, it’s about widening our reach so that we can support many more children and families in need.
“The key parallel between our Elsewhere Garden and our art therapy is the ‘escape’ they both give children, taking their minds to a place of creative freedom.”
Mr Whitfield commented: “The charity does wonderful work and this display at such a prestigious event is a fantastic opportunity for a wider audience to learn about their vision for all children and young people living with chronic health conditions to have access to transformative art therapy.”
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