Outside space
outside space taking place spontaneously, throughout the year, regardless of the weather and with a whole home approach to supporting residents.
Getting beyond the novelty period Following our research study and wider work since we have concluded that if a setting’s care culture practices that hinders outdoor engagement have not been resolved before or alongside the implementation of the new garden, there is a high likelihood that it will return to its former practices and attitudes (its ‘culture’) once the novelty of a new garden has worn off, which we estimate to be within 18-24 months after its completion. For garden designers, many of whom
may only visit for a short time after a garden project has ended - for instance to take photos as it establishes and to support their client with initial questions arising after installation - they are likely to miss this later but crucial period, leaving the designer with the misleading assumption that all was well with the intended use of the garden. In effect, this short post-build interaction period can create an erroneous impression around the actual success of a new garden. What is happening at this point? The
subconscious cultural practices of the care setting that were there at the start but not picked up and challenged at the ‘wish list’ stage, are starting to reassert themselves. Although this situation may be exacerbated as the cooler seasons arrive, it is only a matter of time before the care setting’s deeply embedded and unchallenged attitudes and practices towards the outdoors return to previous low engagement levels with the garden they already had. Gradually, previously locked doors that
were opened in the excitement of the new garden, start to be shuttered again. Less than sunny weather becomes an excuse for not bothering to go out. Windowsills and doorways to the garden become cluttered and obscure the view. This devaluing of the new garden can quickly lead to it not being cared for and a deterioration in the space. Debbie saw this in three gardens she was
asked to re-design, after previous designs had fallen out of use. Unfortunately for the former designer, at this point the care home will not call them back and they, or the garden, may be blamed for ‘not working’ and ‘wasting their money’ and the whole cycle begins again. Worryingly, within care teams this can create a sense of failure, knocking their
explore below. All of them have the potential to undermine the success of the new outside space and need to be addressed at the client brief stage.
Holding the care setting back The design sector generally works to a more generalised, less advanced, attitude towards health and safety and risk assessment practices than is required of the care setting. For example, the designer may misinterpret the rejection of a recommendation to include a gate or security keypad at an entrance which the designer interprets as a risky or unsecure entrance. In this scenario, the designer needs to delve more deeply into the rationale behind this rejection and may need to address their own attitudes and beliefs around this issue. It is possible that the care setting has adopted person- centred, positive risk assessment practices that assess the individual resident’s ability to engage with the open access to this space safely, or that they have suitable monitoring procedure in place to mitigate the risk. This approach may be beyond the current understanding, or role of the designer to decide, yet it requires a full exploration with the care setting. It may mean that it is down to the client to take the final decision around how risks are mitigated and what it deems to be the right balance between risk vs. benefit to their residents. For person-centred homes ignoring the application of individual risk assessments could result in holding back their intended use of the garden.
confidence in stepping outside and means they find it even harder to engage with any future gardens. The sad part to this story is that both
care setting and designers set out with good intentions and a desire to support residents to step outside more, so what can be done to avoid falling into this ‘novelty period’ trap? The answer lies in ensuring that both
designer and care settings are aware of their cultural practices that have led to the under- use or neglect of the current garden. As we described above, staff care practices can be deeply held and often become sub-conscious and overlooked, particularly in how powerful their influence can be, which can then undermine the good intentions behind a new garden project. What should care settings and designers
look out for before investment is made in a new outdoor space? We identified three risks for the care setting and three for the designer that we call ‘hidden dangers’ and that we
Over designing In this scenario, the designer has not fully understood the care setting’s current relationship with the outside space and consequently includes too many features that they are unlikely to engage meaningfully with, at least in the short term. The designer may be attempting to overlay their own preferences for that space, ignoring the needs and wishes of the client or their current capacity or confidence levels in interacting with this new outside space. This ‘hidden danger’ is made worse by unclear needs and wishes on the part of the care setting who, if they are not yet delivering person-centred care, may provide an extensive wish list, possibly including elements they have seen used in other care environments that’s not driven by actual resident needs or interests, nor necessarily within their own capabilities to use. These settings may also lack confidence, leaving all the design decisions to the designer in the belief that ‘the expert
May 2026
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