The Wellbeing Garden with Cath Manuel

In this episode I'm joined by my friend and business partner Anna Baker Cresswell for a conversation in The Wellbeing Garden. Last year we formed  Therapeutic Garden Tours to provide worldwide journeys of learning and discovery for professionals in the field of therapeutic horticulture. In this episode we discuss our inaugural tour starting at the end of September 2025 from London. Read more about...

Welcome to The Wellbeing Garden. In this episode I'm joined by Fiona Thackeray for a wonderful conversation in The Wellbeing Garden. Fiona is the CEO of Trellis Scotland and founder of World Therapeutic Horticulture Day, held on May 18 th each year. In this conversation, Fiona shares her journey into therapeutic horticulture, establishing Trellis and her inspiration to launch World Therapeutic Hor...

Welcome to The Wellbeing Garden. In this episode I'm joined again by my friend, Rachel Marley-Tree, for a conversation in The Wellbeing Garden. We discuss an interesting topic of the effects of a dependency on devices and social media, and ways to overcome this to reconnect with others and nature. This conversation was inspired by my decision to step away from social media to live a more meaningfu...

Thanks for joining me in The Wellbeing Garden. In this episode we begin our series of conversations with other professionals in the field of Social and Therapeutic Horticulture. The first conversations are with my friend and colleague, Rachel Marley-Tree, and she chats with Anita, Kate and Melissa about their journey into The Wellbeing Garden Academy and therapeutic horticulture. It's lovely to he...

I'm excited to be back in The Wellbeing Garden Podcast after a very long time away. We begin the journey into a new season full of wonderful ideas, inspirations and with special friends and guests joining me in the garden. Thank you for listening, and I hope you'll join me again soon! To stay connected, please join the Soil to Supper Club Newsletter HERE. Thanks to the team at Honeybee Creative fo...

I've been working through a few updates to our Growing Together Program and have added some new activities to each season. The more programs we deliver, the more fun activities I keep finding, so I decided to share a few with you in this short and sweet episode. In my article "How to Keep Gardening through Bad Weather" you'll gather ideas for tabletop activities that can be enjoyed in any weather...

Cultivating joy in a garden is one of our goals in therapeutic horticulture. And to make sure that we achieve our goals for all of the participants involved in our programs, or for yourself in the garden, there's a few things that we really need to have in place to make sure that we achieve positive outcomes for everyone involved. In this episode I share a few of my favourite tools of the trade an...

Imagine stepping into the garden and being surrounded by delightful fresh herbs. You're gathering a few sprigs to make a brew of peppermint, lemon balm or tulsi tea. Packed with flavour, a delicious aroma and loads of vitality. Sounds nice…and it's definitely achievable in any garden space in your home or a communal garden setting. Today, we're digging into a topic that's not only fragrant and soo...

Most aged care homes have space available to create gardens to grow fresh food. These spaces require some resourceful planning and willing participants to establish garden areas for residents, staff and visitors to access and enjoy. By having access to seasonally grown food, meals can be improved nutritionally and also taste delicious. In this episode I'll share a few ways to grow healthy food for...

Do you like getting things for free? I don't know anyone who doesn't love to get something for free or for a great bargain! And for gardeners when we get free plants we love them, we grow them , we nurture them and then we love sharing them with others. I've got a few great ideas for you to get free plants for your garden or for your gardening participants. Are you ready to get growing? Here's ext...

Hello fellow gardener. Thanks for joining me again in The Wellbeing Garden! If you've listened to my other podcast episodes or read articles at Soil to Supper you'll know that there's many amazing benefits to health and wellness from the garden, spending time in nature and completing garden and nature based activities. Through our programs I love to guide and support others to enjoy the experience...

Welcome to The Wellbeing Garden Podcast. I hope you're enjoying the episodes published each week! In today's short and sweet episode I want to inspire you to grow and use medicinal plants in your own garden or with your gardening participants to help promote health and wellness from the garden. You'll learn my five favourite medicinal plants, how I use them and suggestions for growing and using pl...

Thanks for coming back to The Wellbeing Garden! In today's episode I share a few experiences I've had and some tips for encouraging many people to the garden. When we provide gardening sessions and programs for our participants we naturally think everyone's excited to join in and ready for fun in the garden. But that's not always the case! From this episode you'll gather; ·       an understanding...

Welcome to The Wellbeing Garden. Thanks for joining me today! As we provide fun activities for our participants it's important for everyone to get something out of each session they attend and learn new skills that can be enjoyed in any garden space. I've been providing gardening programs for 10 years and putting together fun, interesting and interactive activities each week for individuals and gr...

Welcome to The Wellbeing Garden! Today we have my good friend Greg Poultney joining us and sharing a few important tips for self care as we care for others. A few things we discuss… ·       What is compassion fatigue and work overload. ·       What are the warning signs that we're heading towards this. ·       How to care for ourselves, our clients and run a small business. Greg presents at the Th...

Thanks for joining me again in The Wellbeing Garden. Today's short and sweet episode has a few tips for growing healthy food in pots and containers. I've grown food in bathtubs, wheelbarrow, buckets and always recycled or upcycled items that I think would look good or suit growing edible crops. Here's my tips for healthy potted plants; Keep the soil in containers healthy through each season by top...

"To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow" A beautiful quote from Audrey Hepburn. I've read this quote many times and I completely understand her passion and belief in gardening. In episode 31 I shared a few ways that gardens can cultivate wellbeing. Listen HERE But gardens wouldn't be the beautiful, peaceful places they are without plants! So in this episode I share with you a few ideas for pl...

Welcome again to The Wellbeing Garden! When the weather changes do you have an alternative activity to do with your gardeners or for yourself? In this episode I share ideas for Plan B activities and how to continue to enjoy gardening through all weather conditions. Here's what I do… Check the weather the week prior to the gardening day and again the day before. Have a Plan B. Pack a few items that...

When you walk into a garden or a natural space how do you feel? Can you feel the calmness within you, or feel your body relax? What can you see, smell, taste, touch, or hear? There are many ways that a garden can help to cultivate calmness and relaxation and in this episode I want to share some insights that will inspire you to head to a garden to nurture yourself and others. Here's extra ideas th...

Welcome to the first of our " short and sweet " episodes where I share my views on a topic that's relevant to gardening, growing food or to help you in the garden. In this episode I share some tips for safely using potting mix and other garden products, which is important to apply when supporting others in the garden. Tips for safely using garden products are; Always wear gloves and a dust mask -...

Over the years I've gathered a lot of feedback from participants and organisations about the activities we offer and the great health benefits that people experience. In this episode I share 8 fun garden-based activities that are enjoyed by gardeners through the Soil to Supper Therapeutic Horticulture programs and I'm sure you or your participants will enjoy them too! I'll cover; ·       8 popular...

Episode 028 – How to work in the Therapeutic Horticulture industry. Therapeutic Horticulture is the process of using plants and garden-based activities to improve the health and wellbeing of people of all ages and abilities. It's a holistic approach to wellness as garden-based activities help to connect with the mind, body and soul. It's also known as Horticultural Therapy, Social and Therapeutic...

Do you dream of enjoying a day in the garden, harvesting food, picking flowers and having fun in the sun? BUT…a lack of motivation stops you from stepping out the door and heading to the garden? Many of us feel this way at times, and I have felt this way too, on many occasions. So, how do we motivate ourselves to get started with gardening tasks? In this episode I'll share a few tips for motivatin...

Welcome back to The Wellbeing Garden! After a few years away, I'm back in The Wellbeing Garden and have some fabulous ideas to inspire you to grow health in your garden. Most of my work now is in the field of Therapeutic Horticulture, and through Soil to Supper I deliver Therapeutic Gardening Programs to many people onsite in my community and online through our Online Gardening Community. I'm alwa...

Gardening as therapy has been used for centuries to cultivate health and wellbeing for people of all ages and abilities. For many people, especially those living within dementia support units, access to outdoor spaces can be limited. Such an environment, where they have limited access to the outdoors, unable to enjoy gardening activities and a general lack of nutritious fresh food, can lead to dep...