Outdoor environment
Creating your sensory garden – lanning and considerations The process of designing a garden to meet such precise requirements must be thorough, with consideration for all who are going to use and benefit from the garden at the forefront. It is therefore important to: n Seek the views and requirements of staff. n Seek the wishes and needs of residents. n Seek the opinions of the families of the residents, many of whom see a garden as a perfect retreat when visiting a loved one.
n Understand how your outdoor space is used, consider what works well now, what needs to be improved and your vision for the future.
n Create a working group, which consists of team members, residents, and families of your residents. Their input will be invaluable, and you will gain a true insight into all perspectives.
Next up is to take into consideration what the objective of the garden is, looking at, in particular: n The area, and the space of it. n The type of garden: its fragrance, seating, shelter, entire landscapes.
n Creating inclusive space that is accessible for all users.
n The range of plants and flowers.
n Visitors, taking into account a play area for young children.
Safety issues are also important to a good garden design, especially for elderly people, and those with dementia. We have to ensure the following: n Safe pathways. n The minimum steps and obstacles. n Shelter for protection from the sun and wind.
An investment in outdoor spaces creates a huge positive impact, creating happier residents, families and friends and importantly your team members, too. This often results in increased occupancy within the home. The planning process should be a well-thought out and structured process, with all stakeholders able to participate in expressing their view.
In addition to the hard landscaping,
time needs to be spent around planting. Planting needs to be thought through, for instance, plants cannot be poisonous or toxic. The idea is to fill the garden with colourful and scented flowers to create a pleasant ambiance for all, but also a therapeutic environment, too. While bright coloured flowers are eye- catchers, plants with unique leaf patterns can be a great feature.
Since smell is one of our senses,
incorporating a herb garden into your sensory garden would work well. You could also incorporate fruit trees. By selecting a variety of plants and shrubs, for example plants with soft leaves and petals, or perhaps a tree with a scratchy bark are great ways to incorporate touch into your sensory garden.
Sensory gardens and sensory spaces can help dementia patients to reconnect with their lost memories, since memories are so closely linked to our senses
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Introducing swishing sounding plants, ones that rustle in the wind are a great solution for incorporating sounds into your sensory garden. You can add wind chimes too for additional sounds. For patients or residents with mobility issues, planters are a great way to create inclusive and accessible areas. They can be raised so that all users benefit from the plants or gardening opportunity.
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com April 2022
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