Garden of Hope 

A garden contains a set of different plants like flowers, trees, plants, and herbs. Gardens can be used to represent good things like hope and love. In Kinyarwanda, baravugango kugera kure siko gupfa, nta kure Imana itakura umuntu, iyo urugamba rushyushye ruba rugiye kurangira can have several meanings such as ‘to be in a bad moment does not mean to die’,  ‘when the war is in a difficult situation it means it is at the end’. All of these proverbs are used to show that you can pass through various difficulties and be affected negatively, but through time one can be relieved and return back to a normal state of lightness and happiness.

This exercise is an opportunity for you to share what hopes you have and what brings you hope. Garden of Hope is a reflective drawing exercise.

Time to complete: 15 minutes

Step 1: Search online or look in your local area for different types of gardens and outdoor spaces. Here are a few links to varied gardens as well: Japanese garden (Portland Japanese Garden by Jim Choate); memorial garden (Rwanda Memorial Garden by RObinAKirk) or an ornamental garden (Ornamental Gardens by wwarby).

Step 2: How did the images of the gardens make you feel? Reflect and share your feelings based on the images or gardens that you have seen.

Step 3: Consider whether there were aspects of the gardens that provided you with peace, relaxation and hope? If so, what were they?

Step 4: Take crayons, colouring pencils, and/or makers and paper to design your own Garden of Hope. Think about the positioning of plants, the structure and what feelings you would like your garden to provoke in other people. You also have the option to make your own ‘mini’ Garden of Hope using found objects from nature (ex: twigs, rocks, moss, leaves, flowers, etc)

Step 5: Now the garden has been drawn, take time to add notes or descriptions of why you have made your garden the way you have. Offer some reflections on how your garden can be a place of peace and hope.

Step 6: Name your garden.

Step 7: Take a photograph of your Garden with a mobile phone and upload the photo in the box below.

If you are still unclear what to do, please see the example in the photo included on the top of the page.