Garden design
Doddington Lodge: a feast for the senses
Alma Varona, home manager of the Doddington Lodge care home in Cleobury Mortimer, digs deeply into how the new sensory garden came into being at the Shropshire establishment
At Doddington Lodge, a privately-owned residential care home located in the beautiful hamlet of Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire, we are excited to open our bespoke sensory garden. Our new garden provides our residents with a beautiful, atmospheric, sensory experience that will not only give us all something to enjoy when the sun is shining but also a place to feel safe, connected and above all, stimulate the five senses known to help people living with dementia feel relaxed, independent, happy, and healthier. Our new sensory garden, with
views of astonishing Shropshire and Worcestershire countryside, where birds sing all day long, has been designed and hand-crafted by our very own Chris Underhill to provide a place of tranquillity, leisure, and reflection.
Taste, touch, sight, smell, and sound The infatuating new gardens at Doddington Lodge work to stimulate each and every single one of these five senses. Not only connecting us all to the great outdoors and nature, but also providing health benefits that will mean a happier more positive lifestyle for our residents living dementia at Doddington Lodge. We always want to go the extra mile
and find new ways to help our residents feel more independent and as happy as they possibly can. That is why the health benefits that come along with having our very own stimulating garden was at the top of our to do list. With mirrors to see reflections, hear
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the wind chimes sing, instruments to enjoy the rhythm, features that intrigue, surfaces that feel, unusual and colourful objects, and plants that smell so beautiful, it is hard not to feel relaxed, nurtured, and positive after time being spent among the colours, sounds and atmosphere of our new garden. Not only do all senses get heightened
when spending time in the garden, it is also a place where we can go to connect to old memories as well as making new ones. With our dementia residents, we try to make them feel as connected to their lives before Doddington Lodge as possible, as well as giving them the space to enjoy in the moment. This is because we believe that having this new aspect of our home can only bring more joy and peace to our residents and their loved ones. As children, the garden was a place to play. A place where we would get dirty, fall
over, run around, play, build things, put strange things in our mouths, spit it out, chase bumble bees and smell the flowers. Growing up, gardens only become
more important. They become a place to spend time with loved ones, socialise with friends, a place to relax and recharge. Nature never fails to stimulate our senses in a way that when it is time to go back in doors, we are left feeling calm and content. As Alan Titchmarsh once said, the
importance of gardens increases “especially as we get older, as a place to relax and recover, as well as receive multi-sensory stimulation from the environment around us”. Our aim at Doddington Lodge is
to support our residents living with dementia and enable them to continue finding joy in the little things, continue to be creative and flourish within our community, it just takes a little help from
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com • October 2021
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