Ninewells Community Garden lies in the beautiful arboretum of Ninewells Hospital, Dundee (near to Maggie’s). Our mission is to promote physical activity and good health through community gardening; in an environment where horticulture supports wellbeing, therapy and rehabilitation.
The garden includes wheelchair accessible paths, herbaceous borders, vegetable beds, a sensory garden, small orchard with wildflowers, picnic area, wildlife habitat, garden room, poly-tunnel and children’s play area.
The garden also boasts a physic garden, containing a range of plants used over the centuries for medicinal purposes. More information about this part of the garden can be found by following this link.
The garden is run by volunteers, with the support of garden facilitators and is available at all times for public, patients, staff, community groups, and garden volunteers to attend: for picnics, walks and play as well as gardening and a range of other activities throughout the year.
We have a selection of plants and produce available for sale (by donation), depending on the season – do call by and have a look.
The garden is set within the mature woodland to the south of the hospital. This woodland (Arboretum) has many lovely walks – here you will see mature oak, spruce, beech, walnut, pine and many more. There is an abundance of wildlife – look out for buzzards, stoats, woodpeckers and deer.
Leaf Room
With funding from Forestry Commission Scotland and the Community Innovation Fund, we ran a two-stage design competition for architectural practices working in Scotland to design and build a Garden Room. The winning design by Jonathan Reeve of Voigt Partnership includes a spacious indoor room, large glass doors that open fully onto a decking area and a wood burning stove to keep us cosy in the winter.
Shona Robison, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport opened the building on the 11th of November 2016 and we now have a beautiful space, providing shelter for visitors and volunteers; for lunch breaks, workshop and meetings – or for simply watching the birds.
Who we are
Ninewells Community Garden is a volunteer-led project and is managed by its trustees who share a passion for gardening and believe in the therapeutic benefits to promote physical and mental wellbeing. Our current trustees are:
Peter Sandwell: (Chair) Retired after 39 years in local government, involved in the development of parks and the local environment. Peter has a keen interest in promoting community involvement in parks and gardening.
Mary Colvin (Secretary): Retired, with 35 years experience working in the NHS, and currently holding a range of voluntary roles. Mary has been involved with the development of the green space at the arboretum and the Community Garden since 2010.
Tom Mann (Treasurer): An Accountant for 50 years. Tom has first hand experience of the therapeutic benefit of Ninewells community garden while his wife was undergoing treatment at Ninewells.
Dr Derek Ritchie: Retired, 30 years in General Medical Practice. Particularly interested in how gardening and gardens can benefit the health of the community in a holistic manner.
David Frost: David has had several years of volunteering and mentoring experience at Ninewells Community Garden before stepping into the role of Trustee in August 2026.
Vicki Tully: Vicki currently works in NHS Tayside and at the School of Medicine leading and teaching others how to improve healthcare. Vicki has a keen interest in nature-based solutions to wellbeing.
Staff
Kitty Chilcott: Kitty stepped down from the role of Trustee to take on the role of Community Embedded Researcher for the program of work ‘Flourish’ which is part of a bigger Health Improvement piece of research called Realities led by Universities of Dundee & Edinburgh. Kitty leads from the ‘Hub’ at Ninewells Community Garden.
The garden is always open, and a regular number of volunteers oversee the day-to-day running of the garden.
We are always keen to meet people of all ages who think they might want to do a bit of gardening, have a bit of company for a couple of hours, engage with nature, fix a gate, do a bit of weeding. There is no job that is insignificant! All are welcome. We have some warm fleeces, rain jackets and stout boots for borrowing. If you prefer to write a blog, take photos or any kind of marketing or social media stuff that would also be welcome. Drop me an email on admin@ninewellsgarden.org.uk or message via our Facebook page.
