LANDSCAPESPAYSAGES

The Canadian Society of Landscape ArchitectsL’Association des architectes paysagistes du Canada

Creating Landscapes for Seniors L’art d’aménager pour nos ainés

L A N D S C A P E A R C H I T E C T U R E I N C A N A D A

L’ A R C H I T E C T U R E D E PAY S A G E A U C A N A D A

Fall/Automne 2005 Vol. 7/No. 4

Design aesthetics are extremely importantto landscape architects, but aesthetics mustbecome a secondary concern when designingtherapeutic landscapes, lest the function ofthe landscapes be lost. Nonetheless, everylandscape architect knows that following thebuilding codes does not preclude creativity.As well, many beautiful garden elements canalso make excellent therapeutic tools.

The missing linkUnderstanding what aesthetic elements

will work — and what won’t — is not asimple matter. Horticultural Therapists (HT)can provide a link between the design andtherapeutic values. For example, it is easy todetermine how wide a pathway must be toaccommodate a wheelchair ; i t ’s in thebuilding codes. But knowing how a plantinglayout can support a therapeutic program isan entirely different matter. Information is noteasy to find.

To design successful therapeutic gardensfor a seniors’ residence, landscape architectsneed to focus on the changes that wil linevitably occur as the residents age. Designsdrawn to suit the present situation alone maynot be flexible enough. The HT can lay out theprojected needs of the residents over time.How will therapeutic needs change? Ideally, agarden will continue to offer residents an“organic” relationship with the landscape —that is, a relat ionship with the plants,regardless of their decreasing levels ofactivity or mobility. At the same time, thegarden is changing with age as well.

A therapist’s tool kitThe relationship between people and

plants has piqued my interest for the last 23years. My work has involved the applicationof therapeutic approaches to landscapes forseniors’ facilities around the globe. As well,

I’ve gathered knowledge through private andjoint research projects. (An unpublishedresearch project funded by Royal RoadsUniversity examined the impact of gardeningand gardens on seniors in British ColumbiaSenior Health Care facilities.)

The people/plant relationship is thetherapist’s tool kit. Sometimes, simply feelingthe texture of a leaf or watching a flowerblossom in the spring makes a connection.Colour and scent are two other excellent tools.Scent is one of the most significant memoryaids. The scent of a favourite childhood foodcan bring old memories flooding back. Thescent and colour of f lowers can tr iggermemories of special occasions or gardensthat the residents once knew.

At one facility where we worked, at therequest of residents and their families, we

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Si l’esthétique du design estextrêmement importante pour lesarchitectes paysagistes, elle joue unrôle de second plan lors de laconception de paysagesthérapeutiques, sinon la fonction despaysages risque d’être perdue.Certains architectes paysagistesdemandent donc conseil auxthérapeutes horticoles afin qu’il y ait unlien entre l’aménagement et lathérapie.

Pour aménager des jardinsthérapeutiques remarquables, unarchitecte paysagiste doit s’appliquer àcréer un lien entre l’homme et lesplantes, et à tenir compte deschangements qui s’opèrentinévitablement lors du vieillissement.Le jardin devrait idéalement permettreaux aînés de continuer à entretenir unlien avec le paysage, et ce, malgré ladiminution de leurs capacitésattribuable au vieillissement.

Le lien entre l’homme et les plantesconstitue la boîte à outils de toutthérapeute. Les textures, les couleurset les parfums sont d’excellentséléments pour faire revivre de vieuxsouvenirs. Le simple fait de planter unbulbe dans un pot à fleurs peut aussiavoir des effets bénéfiques au planthérapeutique et aider les résidants àdévelopper un sens de maîtrise de leurcadre de vie. À la longue, cesexpériences peuvent amener lesrésidants à nouer des liens plus étroitsavec le jardin, d’où des effetsbénéfiques aux plans physique etmental. L’auteur cite entre autres deuxétudes de cas qui illustrent bien lepouvoir guérisseur du jardin. Un jardinthérapeutique aménagé avec soindevrait faire fonction de pont, créant dumême fait un lien entre l’homme et lanature.

A HORTICULTURAL THERAPIST’SPERSPECTIVE: WHAT MAKES A GARDENSUCCESSFUL?UNE PERSPECTIVE HORTICO-THÉRAPEUTIQUE by/par Paul Allison with/avec Richard Kavadas

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created a sense of “personal” gardens. In onecourtyard garden, we incorporated severallittle niches where people can gather to sit insmall groups, hidden from other groups. Eachintimate space is unique, offering differentviews and differing colours, textures andscents. In another courtyard, we offeredresidents the opportunity to grow their own

selections of plants. Although the plots aresmall and often shared, their therapeuticvalue is high. The plots give residents a senseof control over their environment. Bothcourtyard gardens are accessible towheelchair residents and the pathways areaccessible to hospital beds.

Defining successBy what criteria is a design determined to

be a success? From a therapist’s perspective,a successful design faci l i tates thepeople/plant connections. The simple act ofpott ing a bulb can be a therapeuticexperience, which can ultimately lead to adeeper connection with the garden. Suchexperiences can have a profound effect onphysical and mental health.

Good therapeutic garden design acts as abridge, linking the person with the naturalworld. The connection between people andplants is perhaps demonstrated moreeffectively by two examples from my files. Thenames have been changed and the surroundingconditions slightly altered to protect the dignityof each individual’s experiences.

Plums and pillsWhi le serv ing dur ing Wor ld War I I ,

Brenda, a nurse, was wounded. She spentthe rest of her adult life in a wheelchair as aresident of a veteran’s hospital. One day shetook me aside and led me into her room.Si t t ing on her bed was a p i le o fmedicat ions . She po inted outs ide herwindow to a plum tree with its blossomsjust showing and said, “You see those buds?An hour ago, I was going to swallow thosepills. . . all of them. When I saw the flowersopening up I decided I want to see anotherspring.”

Brenda’s resolve to witness one morespring was triggered in part through herinvolvement with a therapy program in thegarden. The scent of the plum tree brought

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her outside to the tree, where she sat andreminisced. The blossoming plumconnected her to her own past.

The last harvestJim, a retired prairie farmer living in

an extended-care facility, had suffered aserious stroke that left him frail, weakand bedridden. He was not responsive toany outside stimulus — until his handwas brushed by a small sheaf of wheat aformer grain farmer gave me.

In short order, Jim had rubbed thegra ins out o f the heads of wheat ,readying them to be planted. With tubesextending in and out of h im, he wasbare ly ab le to move. Yet wi thdeterminat ion , he leaned on h iswheelchair and broadcast the seed into ara ised bed in the garden wi th anawkward twist of his arm.

A lush, tall, large-headed crop grewfrom that seed, and matured to a goldenbrown. This small crop of wheat gave Jiman opportunity to retain his sense of self-worth and dignity.

Making connectionsBrenda’s connect ion to the p lum

blossoms and Jim’s to the wheat helpedreconnect them to the wor ld aroundthem. Both Brenda and J im foundvalidation of their worth through theirconnect ion to p lants . Th is is whytherapeut ic garden des ign must gobeyond aesthet ics . I t must forge aconnection between people and plants.This is ultimately the test of a successfultherapeutic landscape design.■

Paul Allison first became aware of the power ofplants during his education at CanningtonCollege in Somerset, England. He has recentlycompleted the Inazo Nitobe Memorial Garden atthe Royal Jubilee Hospital, a healing garden inVictoria, B.C.paulcallison@shaw.ca

Richard Kavadas is a social historianresearcher/writer, who enjoys studying thephilosophical, political, psychological andspiritual relationships between people, plantsand places. An avid gardener/landscaper withover 40 years’ experience, he is currentlystudying ancient agrarian perspectives.

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LANDSCAPES/PAYSAGES — À PROPOS DES IMAGES(For an English translation, see page 6.)

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