The physical and mental wellbeing of therapeutic horticulture

The Journal

29-05-2025

FIANN Ó NUALLÁIN, aka The Holistic Gardener, is a gardener, community activist, project facilitator and author. Fiann will be appearing on the Garden Stage at this week's Bord Bia Bloom as both speaker and MC.
Ruth O'Connor
speaks to Fiann about his own work and why gardening is so beneficial to our mental and physical wellbeing.
Fiann Ó Nualláin, aka The Holistic Gardener.
Fiann Ó Nualláin, aka The Holistic Gardener
Fiann Ó Nualláin, aka The Holistic Gardener
Tell us more about yourself?
I'm a bit like Worzel Gummidge – a scarecrow with lots of different heads. On the one hand I write – I spend a lot of time researching about mental health and physical wellbeing and how to use the garden as a resource to support those things. My background is in social and therapeutic horticulture, so I am often working in the field (pardon the pun) working with different groups of people on projects that are not simply about the beautification of a space but about genuine community involvement.
Describe a typical working day for you
I'm an early riser. I'll usually do four or five hours of research then take a break for breakfast. I could be writing for the rest of the day or doing something where I don't know necessarily what the outcome will be. For example, I could be meeting a group for the first time – they could be into gardening or reticent about gardening. I could be working with TY students and will draw them in through their interest in the environment, beauty, sport or whatever they're into. I've learnt that human nature happens in nature – really we're just people gathered together doing what humans do which is communing with each other and with nature.
I could be creating a garden based on story books at a school but really the focus is literary issues or I could be working with a mother and baby group to grow food and then bring in nutritionists to talk about good nutrition for young families.
Sometimes the project centres simply around creating spaces where people can find stillness and take a break from their worries… So my role involves doing a lot of research and then putting my learnings into practice. Then there are all the other things that come with that – appearing at Bloom, doing some TV work and writing articles for the media.
A previous show garden by Fiann Ó Nualláin at Bord Bia Bloom.
Fiann Ó Nualláin
Fiann Ó Nualláin
How did you get into gardening initially?
I've been hooked on gardening since I was a toddler dragging a watering can around the place. My father and grandfather gardened so I always assumed it was what people did. It was only in my teens when I had issues with depression that I found the garden was of solace to me. When I got a bit older I did other jobs but doing indoor jobs, absent from the green environment, I realised that my depression got worse. I realised that the garden was medicating me and I found that something I had discovered could also resonate with other people.
When I realised that gardening and being in gardens transformed my life I wanted to be able to help other people realise that too. The wonderful thing that happens at Bloom is that people might want to have a nice outdoor space to have a glass of wine in, or they might want to improve the value of their home, but when they catch the gardening bug they realise that it brings them so much more.
How important is collaboration to what you do?
Collaboration is really important to what I do. I could go out and install something for somebody and there might be
some
pick up on it – I could petition for land, measure it up, plant out allotment plots and get five or six people interested. Within a year there might be one person left.
However if I divide that same space up between a scouting group, the school and, say, a local community addiction programme and then I bring in additional people – a nutritionist, a flower arranger, a herbalist… it is more likely to be a success. A project like that has to involve people, experts, from within the community as well as outside of the community.
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Fiann Ó Nualláin, aka The Holistic Gardener, on the Talks Stage at Bloom in the Phoenix Park.
Fennell Photo.
Fennell Photo.
How have things changed since you started doing this kind of work?
Years ago it was difficult to get things like community gardens and allotments to stick – people might set something up and then land would be rezoned and they'd have to move on. Now people are almost demanding green spaces as a service – people expect that they should have a green space in their area that they can walk their dog in but they are also starting to expect that the should have a space in which they can express themselves as gardeners or look after their own food security or even just unroll a yoga mat – people don't want to live in concrete jungles.
On the other hand, to some people, nature can be the alien environment. You can have people living on the outskirts of cities, beside industrial estates where there are no parks, no plants or trees and to them nature is an alien environment. In that case you have to get people used to the fact that, yes, there are birds, there are bees, there are flies and this is magic of the world – this the wonder we live in – we share this world with other creatures and that gives people an appreciation for all aspects of life and for living life.
Fiann Ó Nualláin, aka The Holistic Gardener is keen to encourage people to explore the physical and mental benefits of gardening.
Fiann Ó Nualláin.
Fiann Ó Nualláin.
What has been your proudest moment so far?
I worked in a place years ago where I got to introduce teenagers, many of whom had lost their place at school or were young parents, into looking at gardening and horticulture and being outdoors. We'd also cover personal effectiveness, communication skills and a bit of maths by stealth – counting out seeds and figuring out how long it would take things to germinate. In the same area recently I was talking to a mother who I had taught and the one thing that gets him into school is doing gardening in the school garden before he goes into class. I'm proud of the fact that there's something of a legacy there.
Another favourite of mine was done in conjunction with Dublin City Council and a number of artists. It was a project called Plant the Placename. We went into communities, say Bluebell, and we collected seeds with the youngest members of the community, who then brought the seeds to their grandparents who grew them on, and then the parents and children would plant them back into the environment. There were three generations of families involved and everybody got ownership of the project which is very important.
Fiann Ó Nualláin's GIY (Grow it Yourself) garden at Bloom.
Fiann Ó Nualláin.
Fiann Ó Nualláin.
If you weren't doing this what would you be doing?
I don't think could do anything else. Sometimes when I'm bogged down for months writing a book or something I cannot wait to get back out into working in gardens again. A lot of people come to gardens later in life, often in retirement, but I don't need to retire – I've found my home and couldn't see myself doing anything else.
What can people expect from you at Bloom?
You'll get all your design ideas on how to pretty up your space but you'll then wander to the nursery village and talk to people who really know their plants and can advise you. Then you'll come over to the Talks Stage where I'll be introducing experts coming from many different disciplines. We are there so that people can ask questions and pick our brains – we want people to go home with information that they can put into practice.
Two of Fiann's previous books.
Fiann Ó Nualláin.
Fiann Ó Nualláin.
What's next for you?
I'll be doing plenty of garden projects – after Bloom there's always a flurry of interest. I'm currently working on a book about traditional Irish cures – I've been researching it for five years and am currently putting it together for publication.
Fiann Ó'Nualláin will be appearing on the Garden Stage at this year's Bord Bia Bloom which takes place May 29th to June 2nd 2025. Tickets are priced at €30 and up to two children (under 16) go free with every ticket purchased. Visit
bordbiabloom.com
for further information.