There’s something special about having a beautiful garden to spend time in that helps to clear the mind and improve mood.
Being outdoors brings lots of benefits, especially for those living with neurological conditions.
Activities such as planting flowers, taking walks or cultivating a garden can boost mood, reduce feelings of stress and improve overall physical health.
For people who have limited mobility or have few opportunities to venture into the wider community, gardens offer a space for them to connect to nature and the outside world.
Gardens can also be places that enrich our senses, which makes them ideal for those living with neurological conditions to spend time in.
Exemplar Health Care aims to create homes that empower people to live every day to the fullest. Providing accessible outdoor spaces that promote both wellbeing and independence are an important part of this.
Sensory gardens in care homes
Many of Exemplar Health Care’s specialist care homes have sensory gardens.
A sensory garden is designed with the senses is mind. They include features such as flowers, plants and surfaces that stimulate the senses through touch, sight, scent, taste and sound.
These sensory attributes allow people to engage with the environment around them in a way that’s meaningful and beneficial to them.
The people we support have complex needs and experience decreased use or loss of certain senses. Engagement with sensory gardens allows access to sensory inputs, nature and sunlight which increases sensation.
Putting people at the heart of garden design
At Exemplar Health Care, we put people at the heart of garden design. Our gardens are based on the ideas, interests and needs of the people who live and work in our homes.
Our service users are involved in the design and upkeep of the garden space in their home.
Many of our residents take on gardening roles which ensures that the space is meaningful to those who live there.
Gardening is also a natural and quick self-esteem booster – it feels great to accomplish new tasks, and gardens give endless opportunities to learn
new skills.
Ian, who lives at Kavanagh Place care home in Liverpool, used to be a full-time gardener. Now, he leads gardening projects at the home, such as setting up a new vegetable patches, and lovingly mows and de-weeds the garden.
“Gardening makes me feel relaxed and happy,” says Ian. “I love all parts of gardening, especially cutting the grass and keeping it neat,” he adds. “It looks that good now.”
And the Activities Team at Kavanagh Place can see a big difference in Ian’s wellbeing when he’s out in the garden.
“When Ian’s out in the garden, he’s very content,” says the team. “It definitely lifts his mood. You can see when he’s out there that he’s in his own zone, and he’s super-focused.”
Promoting independence
Our care home gardens promote independence so that people can enjoy the benefits without relying on others.
This means having an accessible garden space that can be enjoyed by everyone, with ease of movement, no matter what their physical abilities.
Some elements of a good garden design includes smooth and stable paving, wide walking paths to accommodate equipment, and handrails and 
other aids. It avoids awkward changes in direction and levels which can be confusing, inaccessible and unsafe for those with limited mobility.
Encourage the great outdoors across the Exemplar Health Care community
At Exemplar Health Care, we run company-wide competitions, organised by our Service User Council, to encourage people to make the most of their gardens.
Last year, we ran a sunflower growing competition and this year, our latest initiative is the pumpkin growing competition, which is running until Halloween 2022.
The gardens are open to our residents at any time, but we’ve found that having these initiatives encourages a sense of community.
About Exemplar Health Care
Exemplar Health Care is a leading provider of specialist nursing care for adults living with complex needs.
We have over 35 specialist care homes across England, and growing!
Visit our website to find out more: www.exemplarhc.com
