June 28 - Developing dementia-friendly gardens

At Ostrich we are really happy that lovely Garden designer Kim Grove accepted to write another blog for us. You can read her previous blog post on the benefits of gardens for people with dementia here. Today, let's learn how to create a dementia-friendly garden.

The need for safe gardens for people with dementia

Gardens have great therapeutic benefits, making them ideal places for people with dementia. However, gardens need to be safe enough for people with dementia to use without injuring themselves and suitable for them to participate in garden activities, either with or without help, and without concern for their well-being.

A garden may need adapting slightly to make sure it is safe and suitable for people with dementia. This article explains what changes might be required and offers some tips on how to achieve these changes.

Access

Easy access and nice views over the garden will encourage people to use it. Make the entrances easy to find and use. Unlocking the doors, and giving directions to the garden will help people find their way outside.

People will also be more inclined to use the garden if there are chairs and shelter just outside the entrance. Some garden chairs and a parasol would suffice. Make sure the chairs are robust enough so that they don’t move and cause injury if people flop into them. 

A journey around the garden

Sometimes people with dementia can get lost within the garden and can’t find their way back inside. To stop this from happening, create a looped pathway that takes people on a journey around the garden, and brings them back to where they started.

Pathways should be level, non-slip and non-reflective, with seating along the way so that people feel they can stop and rest regularly. You don’t have to dig up the entire garden to put in a looped pathway, unless there are a few people who would need to use wheelchairs to take them round the garden. If the grass is flat and even, a modern alternative would be to mow a pathway through the grass, leaving the edges a little longer, so that people can identify to route the path takes.

If people are unsteady on their feet, handrails can be placed along the pathway to encourage their use.

Seating and furniture

Put seating areas in other parts of the garden, where people can sit, either in a group with family or friends or by themselves, if they want to spend some quiet time alone.

Ideally, some of these areas should be sheltered from the sun, wind and rain to encourage their use at all times of the year.

Boundaries and gates

Boundaries need to be safe without being oppressive or feeling restrictive, and ideally allow people to view or interact with the outside world. They should be at least 1.2m high to prevent people climbing over them. Hedges are ideal boundaries, and they also encourage wildlife into the garden. If you have a fence as your boundary, plant some large shrubs or climbing plants against it to make it feel more natural.

Fences that can be seen through, such as a picket fence, are a safe boundary which doesn't feel too constricting.

Some people with dementia have wandering tendencies, and the sight of a gate will be like a magnet to them. You can distract people from gates by directing the pathway away from them, or by disguising them behind hedging, or behind trellis clothed with climbing plants.

Water

Water is one of the elements that promote healing, and a pond containing fish is particularly attractive to people who have dementia. However, the need for safety is the main concern here.

The safest water feature is a bubble pool, a container that has water pouring over its sides or a wall mounted water feature such as a lion’s head.

If the decision is to create a pond, a grill can be placed over the top, which will keep its visual appeal whilst preventing the person from falling in.

Raised beds

For people who want to continue to garden, beds at different heights can help people of all abilities, allowing them to garden whilst kneeling, sitting or standing. There are many proprietary raised beds, troughs and tables available from garden centres or online stores these days.

Lighting

People with dementia often have difficulty seeing clearly in low levels of light and therefore need more light than older people in general to make sense of their surroundings.

Try to avoid creating dark or shaded areas within the garden, or if you do have these, try to brighten them up by using white and yellow plants to help to reflect any available light.

If the garden is used during the autumn, winter or early spring,or inthe evening, some sort of artificial light will be needed in the garden especially along pathways and in seating areas. If you want to avoid the expense on putting in electricity, there are many solar powered lights available these days.

Plants

Plants should also be safe for people and suitable for all soil types. People with dementia have been known to put plants into their mouths, for this reason, plants should be non-toxic, without irritating sap, thornless and they should not sting. Many popular garden plants are toxic including daffodils, tulips, delphiniums, lupins, viburnum, box, and privet; and roses have thorns. Try to find suitable alternatives to these plants. Kim’s guide, Gardens for people with dementia: A guide to make them safe and suitable, contains a list of popular garden plants that are unsuitable for the garden and offers some alternatives. The Royal Horticultural Society also has a list of plants that are toxic, and thornless roses are available to buy from many popular rose growers.

Plants should be seasonal so that people with dementia can orient themselves to the time of year through the plants in the garden, for example, primroses in spring, lavender in summer, plants with russet leaves in autumn and heathers in winter.

Sensory plants and features are also a good choice as arousing each of the five senses of touch, smell, sight, sound and taste can help to keep people calm and interested in the garden.

As you can see, gardens can be easily adapted to make them more dementia friendly. Further information about adapting the garden can be found in Kim’s guide, Gardens for people with dementia: A guide to make them safe and suitable which can be downloaded free of charge from her website.