Growing Creative Spaces at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital – Summer Round Up

By Becky Brazil, Arts and Greenspace Manager

It’s been a busy few months across the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, with a range of projects helping to enhance outdoor spaces for patients, visitors and staff.

One of the most rewarding aspects of Green Health is seeing how outdoor environments can evolve into spaces that support wellbeing, creativity and connection. This summer, we’ve been working with partners, volunteers, patients and staff to continue improving some of the hospital’s gardens and courtyards, helping ensure they are welcoming, accessible places for everyone who uses them.

Transforming courtyards in the Orchard Clinic

One of our biggest projects this year is the renovation of the courtyard gardens within the Orchard Clinic.

Working alongside Green Health Projects Manager Iain Cartwright and designer Matt Nelson, we are developing plans to transform the Redwood, Cedar and Hawthorn courtyards into more attractive and therapeutic outdoor spaces.

These gardens play an important role for patients and staff, offering opportunities to spend time outdoors, enjoy nature and access fresh air close to clinical environments. The renovation work will help create spaces that are not only more visually appealing but also better suited to relaxation, reflection and everyday use.

Creating a mural inspired by patients and staff

Alongside the physical improvements to the courtyards, we’re developing a new mural for Redwood Courtyard.

Rather than designing the artwork in isolation, we’ve been working directly with patients and staff through a series of creative workshops to explore ideas, themes and inspirations for the space.

The workshops have generated fantastic discussions and creative contributions, helping ensure the final artwork reflects the people who use the courtyard every day. We’re currently working with the artist on the final design, with plans for the mural to be painted later this month.

It’s exciting to see how creativity can help people shape their environment and foster a sense of ownership and pride in the spaces around them.

Breathing new life into Craiglockhart Courtyard

Elsewhere on site, improvement work has continued in the Craiglockhart Courtyard Garden.

With support from volunteers from The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), we’ve been tackling the next phase of the courtyard’s transformation. Together we’ve been weeding, filling raised beds with fresh compost and introducing a range of new plants to brighten the space and improve its biodiversity.

The courtyard is already beginning to feel more vibrant and welcoming, and we’re looking forward to seeing the planting mature over the coming months.

Projects like this demonstrate just how much can be achieved through partnership working, and I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed their time and enthusiasm to helping improve the space.

Reopening a hidden green corner

Sometimes relatively small improvements can make a big difference.

Over the summer, the Glazed Corridor Garden, located next to The Broch, received a thorough clean-up and weeding session to prepare it for wider community use.

With The Broch currently operating as the hospital’s kitchen servery, this peaceful garden space and bench area are now available for patients, visitors and staff to enjoy. We’re delighted to see another outdoor space being brought back into regular use and offering people a quiet place to sit and spend time outside.

Celebrating another Green Flag Award

We were also thrilled to learn that the Royal Edinburgh Hospital has once again retained its Green Flag Award.

This recognition reflects the ongoing dedication of so many people who help care for and champion the hospital’s grounds.
Maintaining the award would not be possible without the support of our partners at Cyrenians and Artlink, alongside NHS Lothian’s Estates team, volunteers and staff. It is a wonderful acknowledgement of the collaborative effort that goes into making the hospital grounds welcoming, well-managed and beneficial for both people and wildlife.

Bringing people together

Green spaces are about more than planting and landscaping. They’re also places where people can gather, learn and connect.

Our partners at Cyrenians welcomed author Alexander McCall Smith to the Community Gardens as part of their Summer Fling programme.

Another highlight was the return of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital’s much-loved annual parade. This year’s theme, Fantastic Creatures, brought the hospital grounds to life with everything from a giant Kelpie to Nessie and colourful butterflies. Costumes, props and artwork were created by patients and volunteers in partnership with Artlink, helping participants express their creativity and work together towards a shared celebration.

The parade wound its way around the hospital grounds, stopping at the Community Gardens for homemade scones before continuing to The Hive for music and dancing. The festivities ended at Artlink’s Glasshouse, where participants gathered to celebrate and discover the winners of the best costume competition. It was a joyful day that showcased the creativity, talent and sense of community that make the Royal Edinburgh Hospital such a special place.

Events like these help bring life to our outdoor spaces and create opportunities for people to enjoy culture, conversation and community in a relaxed setting.

Looking ahead

As we move into autumn, work continues across the Royal Edinburgh Hospital to develop spaces that support wellbeing, encourage creativity and strengthen connections with nature.

Whether through garden improvements, creative projects, community events or partnership working, each project contributes to a shared vision of a hospital environment that feels greener, more welcoming and more supportive for everyone who spends time here.

I’m looking forward to sharing further updates as these exciting projects continue to take shape.