Gardening Resources

As of August 2025, half a million people in the UK have been diagnosed with dementia, according to NHS figures (NHS England, 2025). With numbers projected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040 (Alzheimer’s Society, 2024), innovative approaches to dementia care have never been more urgent. Dementia is now the leading cause of death in the UK and affects around 70% of care home residents (Alzheimer’s Society, n.d.). For families and caregivers, supporting loved ones through the challenges of the condition is a daily reality. Increasingly, attention is turning to sensory gardens — specialised outdoor spaces designed to engage the senses and promote wellbeing.

The National Garden Scheme (NGS) is the largest funder of the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) and, in fact, it is the largest charitable funder of nursing and caring organisations in the UK. We are often asked, how did this relationship originate?