AS THIS warm and sunny summer has continued, relaxing in a park or garden is something we all like to do.

Maintaining a garden can be either a pleasant and rewarding hobby or a chore involving, at this time, sweat and hard work.

But I have recently begun to see gardening generally in a rather different light as a result of two significant fundraising efforts for Leuchie House. We all know money doesn’t grow on trees, but we have recently received donations from Merryhatton Garden Centre and the East Lothian Garden Trail which may challenge that notion!

More than £3,000 raised by Merryhatton Garden Centre was the result of their year-long support of Leuchie as their Charity of the Year. Merryhatton also visited Leuchie and planted some fabulous colourful pots for us following their successful ‘plant for a pound’ promotion.

Additionally, we have already had substantial donations this year from events held by the generosity of garden owners across East Lothian as part of the East Lothian Garden Trail.

The gardens at Leuchie are such a source of joy to all the guests. Donations of help in the upkeep of our extensive grounds are always very welcome and we have been lucky enough to have support from Royal Bank of Canada volunteers and Goose Green Design to help keep our gardens interesting. All these efforts are so well appreciated by our guests and staff, who have been making the most of the summer weather lately by using the grounds as an extension of the building and holding physiotherapy and exercise classes outside, as well as sitting out and enjoying watching the wildlife – deer, pheasants and hares are our regular visitors.

For some of our guests, even if they are fortunate enough to have a garden at home, there can be physical barriers to getting out to enjoy the sunshine, such as relying on a carer to come in and help them get out in a wheelchair.

At Leuchie, the gardens are accessible from the house for wheelchair users and we also have a fully accessible woodland walkway which provides an opportunity to escape from the current heatwave!

Still on the garden theme, Leuchie has also introduced its ‘giving tree’ in reception, a beautiful wall-mounted sculpture with gold or bronze leaves inscribed for people who have given donations or in memory of others who have supported Leuchie.

So whether we are sitting back and admiring the fruits of our own gardening labours or enjoying one of the magnificent public gardens in our East Lothian towns we should reflect on just what hard work and gardening skills – and a little help from nature – can achieve.