How Do I... Create a Senior-Friendly Garden?
If you're planning a garden for an elderly loved one, you won't want to miss our expert's practical tips
In this practical series, we ask experts to answer your burning home and garden questions. Here, Evette Moran, co-founder of the Mark Moran Group, which received the award for Best Garden Overall in the 2018 Woollahra Garden Awards, shares her secrets for creating a garden that’s appealing, low-maintenance and safe for elderly loved ones.
Encouraging elderly people to get out into the garden is extremely important as it can stimulate the mind, boost motor skills and endurance, provide healthy nutrients and reduce stress. Here’s how to create a layout that’s both practical and appealing.
Keep it safe
- Provide shade: It is important to provide shade for seniors in the garden, especially in summer. Their skin is more susceptible to getting sunburnt and they can easily suffer from heat stroke.
- Include seating: Some elderly people can tire easily so it’s important to include several comfortable and stable seating options in the garden where they can rest.
- Raise garden beds: Many elderly individuals have physical restrictions that make bending difficult, so bring garden beds to an accessible level.
- Choose lightweight tools: If seniors want to get involved in garden care, ensure they have lightweight, easy-to-handle tools that are less likely to slip out of their hands and cause injury.
Evette Moran in the award-winning garden she designed for Mark Moran Vaucluse aged-care centre in NSW
Make sure the layout is user-friendly
Make sure the layout is user-friendly
- Include plenty of flat surfaces.
- Make sure walkways are spacious and easy to navigate.
- Create zones in the garden for different types of plants, such as native species, vegetables and fruit trees. This makes the garden an interesting place to spend time in, plus zones make it easy to move around.
Factor in seniors’ specific health needs
- Vision impairment: It is common for seniors to have some form of vision impairment. Whether they have complete loss of vision or only require a pair of glasses to make their vision clearer, this is one of the most important things to factor in when planning a garden due to accessibility and activity.
- Body temperature: Elderly people can become dehydrated a lot faster than younger people when out in the garden, which can also lead to heat exhaustion. Ensure you provide easy access to water, as well as rest spots and shade.
Make it easy
Make your senior-friendly garden as easy to care for as possible. Choose plants, trees and vegetables that are not fussy to grow or need minimal amounts of maintenance. Avoid planting items that spread easily, need a lot of trimming or attract pests.
Make your senior-friendly garden as easy to care for as possible. Choose plants, trees and vegetables that are not fussy to grow or need minimal amounts of maintenance. Avoid planting items that spread easily, need a lot of trimming or attract pests.
Senior-friendly plants
Some of my favourites are:
Some of my favourites are:
- Magnolias: These plants are versatile, easy to care for and very disease-resistant. When planting magnolias, it is important to improve the soil quality so that in summer, water can go straight to the plants’ roots.
- Banksia: This stunning native is full of colour and is easy to maintain. Flowers will bloom throughout the year with very little attention as long as they have been planted in well-drained soil with full sunlight.
- Citrus trees: Being able to pick fruit from the garden can draw anyone out into the sunshine and it gets seniors active and provides them with homegrown nutrients. Caring for citrus trees is fairly minimal; it involves watering, mulching, fertilising and occasionally pruning to rid the tree of dead wood and branches.
- Grevilleas: These beautiful plants do not get bothered by pests and are incredibly easy to maintain. Grevilleas also attract beautiful native birds.
Other elements you may like to include
- A vegetable garden: It is important for everyone, no matter their age, to maintain good health, which is why I find having a spot to grow your own produce essential to any senior’s garden. People love growing, picking and cooking their own fresh herbs and vegetables.
- Quiet spots: Seniors love to have a quiet place in the garden where they can think or read a book, making it an appealing addition.
- Wildlife: People of every age usually love wildlife – native Australian wildlife in particular. At our Vaucluse, NSW, garden we recently added a menagerie-style aviary that features Australian birds, native beehives, koi fish and frog ponds that locals and residents love. Adding features to your garden that will attract wildlife is a great idea.
- Colour: Plants with plenty of colour lift the spirits and can inspire us to get moving. They’re also great for detracting attention from those less-than-lovely features in a garden.
Plants to avoid
- Bamboo: Planting bamboo may seem like a good idea due to its resilience and minimal care needs, but it’s not ideal for a senior-friendly garden. It will spread rapidly throughout the garden and can be extremely hard to eradicate.
- Azaleas: These shrubs can create the most beautiful, vibrant flowers but they are incredibly hard to maintain and require special care to survive.
- Belladonna: This plant is extremely toxic and should be kept away from any place where a person or pet may accidentally ingest it.
Tell us
Have you designed a garden for a senior in your life? Tell us how you went about it in the Comments below, like this story, save your favourite images and join the conversation.
More
Want a hand planning or planting your senior-friendly garden? Speak to a local gardener or landscape contractor
Have you designed a garden for a senior in your life? Tell us how you went about it in the Comments below, like this story, save your favourite images and join the conversation.
More
Want a hand planning or planting your senior-friendly garden? Speak to a local gardener or landscape contractor
