Strategies for Creating a Garden Accessible to All Individuals: Inclusive Garden Design Principles
Our design studio prides itself on making gardens that connect people and nature at the heart. At the 2021 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, we presented a pocket park concept – a look at what public garden spaces truly mean. In 2023, we continued this theme with the Best in Show garden for Horatio's Garden. With plans to relocate the garden to Northern General Hospital's Spinal Injury Centre, it'll be eight times bigger than its Chelsea version! Due to open in spring 2025, this green retreat will benefit patients, their loved ones, and NHS staff alike.
For anyone pondering the impact of gardens and green spaces, books like Sue Stuart-Smith's The Well-Gardened Mind delve deep into the subject. While you might not think accessibility is your immediate concern, it's crucial for the future – be it yourself or your loved ones. In fact, inclusive gardens cater better to everyone, from those navigating with walking aids to parents pushing strollers.
Crafted views and thoughtful planting experiences are essential in such gardens; they offer solace on challenging days and can aid rehabilitation. Following the great work of Sara Hendren, who invites us to depart from 'normalcy' and instead focus on transformative design, we can create spaces that cater to all.
When Horatio's Garden approached our studio, they asked us to turn the spinal injury patients' needs into an accessible garden design opportunity, not a limitation.
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To design an effective accessible garden, it's vital to listen and communicate with its users. Whether creating a garden for yourself or for an organization, ask questions, gather insights, and learn what works best for your specific audience.
Here are some key considerations for accessible garden design:
Users First
Users with different abilities, such as those in wheelchairs or with visual impairments, require unique solutions. For instance, serpentine paths with a minimum width of 1.5 meters (for a wheelchair and an assistant) or 1.2 meters in domestic gardens, ensure easy navigation. These paths should be free of sharp angles and narrow enough for easy turning. Simple, geometric grid pathways or boundaries might be more beneficial for those with visual impairments.
Sensory Landmarks
Water features invite touch, sound, and interaction with the garden. Sensory landmarks, such as scented plants or paving finishes vary the texture underfoot, creating an immersive experience.
Accessible Surfaces
Avoid surfaces with shifting gravel for an accessible garden. Opt for smooth, resin-bound gravel or stable paving with good grip.
Rest Spaces
Creating places to rest is essential – seating should be at easy intervals with suitable prospect and refuge. Shade is crucial too, providing relief from uncomfortable temperatures, especially for people with dementia or spinal injuries.
At Horatio's Garden Sheffield & East, we incorporate all these elements to accommodate users of varying abilities.
- The design studio is renowned for creating gardens that bring people closer to nature, incorporating green spaces at their core.
- Accessible garden design is a crucial aspect of our work, ensuring that everyone, from individuals with mobility aids to parents with strollers, can enjoy the benefits of gardening.
- By focusing on transformative design, we can craft gardens that cater to users of all abilities, as demonstrated in our work for Horatio's Garden.
- Creating inclusive gardens involves understanding the needs of users, be it for personal use or for organizations, and tailoring the design accordingly.
- In accessible garden design, it's vital to prioritize users' needs, providing wider paths for easy navigation, sensory landmarks for immersive experiences, accessible surfaces, rest spaces with suitable shade, and more.
