Most families and individuals comparing residential care spaces or choosing between care homes will naturally prioritise those with beautiful gardens, outdoor patios, greenhouses and small allotments for residents with green fingers to get involved with—but the role of gardens goes beyond a preference.
Outdoor areas, whether lawns, manicured and landscaped gardens, small woodlands, or patches of planting, can play a significant part in the day-to-day lives of care centre residents, something the teams within the Forest Healthcare group understand well.
This guide, compiled by the care teams involved in the opening of a new resident’s garden at Forest Healthcare St Anne’s Care Centre, a private care community in Islington, London, explains why it was so worthwhile investing time and effort into developing the garden and the real-world benefits for residents, family members, and staff alike.
Using Green Spaces and Gardening as a Form of Care Centre Enrichment
One of the many reasons we believe that the gardens and lawns that form a key aspect of our routines and activity schedules are so beneficial is that regardless of age, mobility, well-being or cognition, spending time outdoors is always good for us.
Published research has clarified that green spaces aren't solely 'nice to have' but play a vital role in tackling poor mental health, acting as a form of therapeutic intervention that can lower stress and be important for vulnerable adults, including those living with cognitive conditions like dementia.
A healthy dose of vitamin D and fresh air can blow away the cobwebs, help us unwind and reset, or provide a way to engage with the local ecosystems that exist even in the heart of London, where birdsong and fluttering butterflies is incredibly relaxing.
For many residents, the garden is a place of fun and socialisation, as a setting for garden parties and BBQs in the summer. It is also an area within the care centre that is open, spacious, and inviting, ensuring nobody, especially residents with mobility challenges, ever feels cooped up, confined, or stuck indoors.
Families are warmly invited to seasonal and special occasions, where we can throw open the doors and welcome everybody into the care centre to come together and spend quality time, where residents can interact, make friends, or just relax as they wish.
Of course, much depends on the weather, but we endeavour to make the absolute most of warmer evenings throughout the year and ensure that when the days are a little damper or cooler, there is still sufficient fresh air to help us all feel our best.
The Value of Nurture and Planting for Care Centre Residents
Another important part of care centre gardens is that they offer residents who wish to get involved a great opportunity to continue their hobbies. Many hold treasured memories of berry picking, planting, and selecting beautiful blooms for their kitchens, families, and homes, and being able to carry on those familiar routines is ideal.
Gardening is a therapeutic activity in itself, watching seeds sprout, flowers flourish, and fruit and vegetables transform from tiny seedlings into delicious, tasty nourishment. Kitchen gardens are a great source of low-cost, homegrown plants and herbs, and adding a well-known flavour to a favourite dish or snack you have helped grow yourself is rewarding.
Residents thrive when given open choices and freedom to pick the activities or sessions they want to try, with a great sense of focus and purpose in designing a new hanging basket or flower bed, helping with the planting scheme for a new season, or instructing our care teams where to take cuttings if they’re not able to do so independently.
For those who are able, the physical activities involved in weeding, digging, sweeping, and planting can also be core to remaining mobile and active. Although it remains important to be conscious of anything too strenuous, light exercise and movement are often beneficial.
A stroll through a green, bustling garden, feeling the sun and wind on our faces, and soaking in the scenery around us is of huge importance; using unstructured physical movement to encourage independence and reduce fall risks outside of the more organised activities inside the centre.
Residents who aren’t as keen on gardening still get involved in our green spaces in other ways, sometimes refilling the bird tables with seeds, perhaps keeping an eye out for the cheeky robins nearer to Christmas and looking for the first signs of squirrels burying their nuts in the autumn.
Exploring the Gardens and Grounds With the Forest Healthcare Care and Nursing Centre Network
Here at St Anne's, we were delighted to officially open our new gardens in the summer, with support from the DEFRA-funded Islington Council clean air initiative. We're also proud to have a range of amazing outdoor spaces throughout the Forest Healthcare group, each with its own unique quiet nooks for reading and relaxation and larger spaces for parties and al fresco dining.
Forest Healthcare pours as much effort into developing bright, inviting gardens as we do comfortable, cosy and welcoming indoor accommodations, communal areas and private bedrooms, ensuring each centre focuses on holistic well-being and feels like a true community.
Our sister care centre in Islington, Bridgeside Lodge, is a great example, as a luxury and contemporary gated centre right next to Regent's Canal. It provides waterside living and a gorgeous outdoor garden terrace directly next to the river, where residents can spend sunny days watching the canal boats and river tours floating by.
Some of the other nursing and care centres outside of the city encompass country gardens, lawns, seating areas, greenhouses, and pathways, with level entry points to enable access by residents using mobility devices, wheelchairs, and walking aids.
These and all of the centres throughout the Forest Healthcare network ensure that residents not only benefit from dedicated care support, high-quality nursing care, specialist catering, therapies, and condition-specific assistance but can also spend time indoors and out, making the most of the green spaces we know are so important to their well-being.
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About Forest Healthcare
Forest Healthcare is an established care provider dedicated to consistently delivering an outstanding quality of life to the residents they serve. With a network of care centres across South-East England, Forest Healthcare specialises in catering to a wide range of care requirements, including; residential, nursing, dementia and specialist care. The organisation’s mission is to provide a family feel to the exceptional care they deliver by valuing, respecting and caring for each and every person who lives and works at Forest Healthcare.
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Source Company: https://www.foresthc.com
