“The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden”
“The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden”
Good/ (gud)
Noun
1. That which is morally right; righteousness
2. Benefit or advantage to someone or something
“Garden4Good” is our guiding ethos for our garden; the idea that every choice we make about the garden and the activities it inspires has the potential to be a good choice, and that we are active in making it so.
It’s something that we have come to feel very passionately about as we work towards our goal to be a Garden4Good.
And through our Instagram account @Quintonrectorygarden, this site and our blogs, we’ll be sharing some of our own experiences and good news garden stories that have inspired us in the hope that they might inspire others too.
Our aim
We want the Garden4Good message to germinate, take root and spread; and this is where its ecosystem begins.
From time to time, we make the garden available for commercial photo shoots, media projects and events. If you have an idea you’d like to bring to us, please get in in touch with Emma to start a conversation.
Silent Space
One of the comments we hear most frequently from garden visitors is that the garden has an atmosphere of calm serenity, something that was always a goal for us. So when we came across the Silent Space movement, the idea of setting aside an area of the garden for quiet contemplation, it instantly appealed.
We have designated the little dell underneath our willow tree as a Silent Space. We invite garden visitors to spend some time in this space, without the distraction of conversation or a demanding mobile telephone, to soak up the sense of calm. Connecting with nature, being present with the sights, sounds and smells of the garden and sinking into the embrace of silence.
“The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear”
by Clive Nichols
We were thrilled to be included in Clive Nichols’ gorgeous book Brilliant English Gardens. Published in 2022, we’re in good company with our garden featured alongside those at Forde Abbey, The Newt in Somerset and Gravetye Manor, amongst others.
Clive (“Britain’s Best Garden Photographer” according to Canon Magazine), has photographed the garden throughout the seasons and has run photography workshops from the garden. If you’d be interested on attending a future workshop with Clive, please let us know.
You can click here to buy a copy of the book, or have a flick through ours when you come to visit!
Another way we’ve been using our garden for good is by hosting regular wellbeing workshops, retreat days and gatherings.
Run by our sister organisation Breathe4Good, these events have helped us to create a supportive wellbeing community as well as raising thousands of pounds for various charities. And – we hope – creating unique and inspiring experiences for our participants.
The garden (and house) are also the venue for Emma’s holistic treatments, including 1:1 Breathwork therapy. You can find out more about these on the Breathe4Good website.
In our latest guest blog, Annie Handyside explores rewilding through the lens of her neighbours’ garden, a nature reserve created by Avril and Chris Francome over the past 20 years
Sue Wood is one of our favourite people. A wonderful yoga teacher, she teaches at our mini retreat mornings and our seasonal journeys and is often to be found in the garden’s swimming pond. Here, she writes about some of her experiences of cold Water swimming, and explores why she finds it so compulsive
The snowdrop; a messenger sent to alert us that the darkest moments of winter have passed, and the time from rebirth is coming. An ode to the tiny white flowers and to hope in the darkness of January
We’re thrilled to share a guest blog penned by Tabi Jackson Gee, writer and garden designer (quite a combo!).
Here, Tabi weaves together the threads of poetry and gardens and their powerful and enduring connection. It’s a beautiful read, and concludes with some recommendations from Tabi of instagram accounts to follow for those whose appetites (like mine) are whetted by this beautiful blend.
This is the tale behind the Quinton Old Rectory Fairy Trail that will be opening in the garden in 2020. But it’s also a tale of two Davids.
Following completion of the landscaping work in Quinton Old Rectory Garden back in 2015, the first David spotted an opportunity to create a woodland walk through the trees that surround the perimeter of the garden.
Confession time. I’m not a fan of Halloween. I just don’t get it.
It was less of a thing when I was young (but still a thing – as village kids, we trick or treated, in make-shift outfits, on friends and neighbours with moderate success – a mix of sweets and windfall apples)
I thought I’d take some time to share why we’ve chosen Garden4Good.co.uk as the domain name for our garden website.
Garden4Good is a mantra that took root (the pun entirely deliberate) earlier this year when we decided to formalise our garden’s fundraising activities,