Journal

Psychiatrist Sue Stuart-Smith on how nature restores, and the garden that calls her back

May 11th, 2026

Words Ellie Hughes

“It’s a wonderful place to walk through and be in,” says Sue Stuart-Smith of the prairie that forms part of her unique Hertfordshire garden, created from seed by her husband, the celebrated garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith. “The curving paths draw you in. I’m the lucky recipient of all this beauty.” In the latest episode of the Homing podcast, Sue, psychiatrist, psychotherapist, gardener and writer of the best-selling book, The Well Gardened Mind, walks Matt through the couple’s private gardens and reflects on the sense of safety and inner freedom that gardening can bring.

“Being in a vegetable patch reminds me of a feeling from childhood, when you’re lost in play, in your own world,” Sue tells Matt. “That’s a lot of what gardening can do for people.” Her book, The Well Gardened Mind, explores the magic of gardening, mixing contemporary neuroscience, psychoanalysis and stories of people struggling. “If you’re feeling beleaguered, the very act of working with growth can give you the sense of something better to come,” she says.

In the podcast, recorded in her beloved greenhouse, Sue recalls how she and Tom “felt like pioneers” when they converted the barn and started the garden from scratch, nearly 40 years ago. Built on Tom’s family estate, they created everything themselves. “It was a blank canvas,” she recalls. “I think, having lost my father aged 21, I needed to put down roots. Creating a new place was very restorative – and hard work!”

Now, the gardens have been through many iterations. “There are so many memories encoded in the gardens … that’s very important to me. The garden grew up around our children and they’re very lucky to have that stability. It’s the centre of my life and it’s the place that always calls us back.” (You can explore the private gardens, including the wildlife pond, shepherd’s hut sauna and the prairie - complete with sculpture by Martin Jennings – via an exclusive video tour on Patreon, priced at £6 per month.)

As well as the couple’s private garden, they have also created the Serge Hill Project for Gardening, Creativity and Health, a not-for-profit working with different community groups including schools and the NHS. “Nature is de-stressing, it reduces blood pressure and cortisol levels in minutes,” Sue says. “And there’s something about getting your hands in the soil that helps you metabolise your thoughts.”

“Kids open up, they end up in a very different space after being here,” says Sue, describing the “enriching” process of being able to host the different visting groups. ” The garden gives you the sense of yourself as a biological being, just one of its many inhabitants. I just wish I had more time to sit in it,” she laughs.

Forthcoming episodes of Homing feature the artists David Shrigley and Sam Taylor-Johnson. Subscribe to Homing or become a member of Patreon and as always, happy listening.