A QUIET garden in East Oxford is providing prize-winning therapy for people with mental health problems.

The Beehive garden, in Manzil Way, has picked up the Oxford in Bloom Community Garden Therapy Award for the second year running.

More than 250 gardeners attended the bloom competition’s prize-giving ceremony at the Roman Way Sports and Social Club in Cowley last week.

Restore, the charity which runs the garden, offers therapeutic help to the mentally ill.

Beehive garden supervisor Charlotte Attlee said about 90 people with mental health problems used it regularly.

She added: “We are thrilled to have won this award for the second year running – we will try to make it three in a row.

“The users of the centre say they are over the moon that we have won because they take real pride in the garden.

“As well as the garden, there is a cafe run by service users, and herbs grown in the garden are used in the cooking.

“We also use fresh flowers from the garden on the tables in the cafe, which is open from 10am to 3pm on weekdays.

“People who come here are amazed to find such a tranquil setting just a short distance away from the Cowley Road.

“We also grow flowers and plants to sell — there is a wide range, including pelargoniums, 15 varieties of herbs, and a number of hardy perennials and grasses.”

Mrs Attlee, whose husband James wrote Isolarion, a book about the history of the Cowley Road, added: “We build on people’s capacity to engage in work and develop their social life through work projects.

“By providing this work-based environment, we try to help people with their social and practical skills.

“The garden is a fantastic space for people to relax in, and the internal courtyard garden where most of our herbs are grown is one of the highlights.”

Six staff and supervisors work at the centre, where users take part in gardening, woodworking and working in the cafe.

Restore runs four thera- peutic services across Oxfordshire.

There were more than 600 entries in this year’s Oxford in Bloom competition, which is run by the city council’s parks department and backed by the Oxford Mail.

Organisers say the contest was such a success this year they are planning to enter the Britain in Bloom competition next year.

Oxford did not compete in the national competition this year because of financial cutbacks at the city council.