A grant of £10,000 has been given to the new therapeutic gardens project at Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield by the Masonic Charitable Foundation.
The first of the two new gardens is a dementia care space, which aims to use colour, scent, and visual stimulation to evoke memories.
It will recreate a residential street from the post-war era, complete with period shopfronts, Victorian street lamps, and a genuine 1960s mini that will be familiar to the majority of patients.
It has been proven that dementia patients respond positively when given free access to outdoor areas.
Agitation and aggression is reduced and there is an increase in memory recall.
The second garden is aimed at patients recovering from a stroke.
It is based on a Japanese design and will provide a tranquil haven for patients for whom the noise of a busy ward can be overwhelming, as well as a quiet place for family and friends to visit.
The £10,000 Masonic grant means that the Chase Farm Charity has raised most of the £120,000 needed to complete the garden project, with only the final £10,000 left to be found.
The gardens will be accessible from the dementia care and stroke rehabilitation wards and will be used by more than 200 patients every year, along with hundreds more visiting family and friends.
Trevor Koschalka from the London Freemasons said: “I am very pleased that we are able to support the construction of these wonderful gardens.
“It’s a hugely-imaginative scheme that will do a lot to aid the recovery of many very vulnerable people.”