Month: June 2015

All The Things Your Garden Can Do for You

The garden is a magical place; it provides therapy, illness recovery, increases intellectual capacity, provides wholesome goal driven participation for people in need of a supportive and nurturing environment, holistic benefits.  Ultimately where we’re going with all this stuff is to expand the conventional meaning of accessible in the garden context; physically accessible yes but… Read more »

Broad Appeal

Consider Multi Generational Design and how it can impact areas like horticultural therapy, designing for autism, for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. There is a confidence building role for it within the work being done with people in transition; from abusive or addictive backgrounds, children from dysfunctional homes.Facilitating pleasurable engagement with the garden. Providing the vehicle… Read more »

MGD

Raised elements don’t have to detract from the visual appeal of the garden. These planters are built from coated profiled metal cladding and capped and cornered with teak. Filled with loose compost they will provide enjoyment regardless of where the participant lies on the age spectrum.It’s a good example of an element we would traditionally… Read more »

What Am I Talking About?

On a practical level it’s about conceiving and executing in a user profile led way. I’m only in my early forties and when I am out in the garden I continually find myself looking for any sort of an available makeshift bench or platform on which to put close quarters work rather than attempt to… Read more »

Forget Everything You Think You Know About Accessibility

Accessible Gardens. What do you immediately think of? I’ll bet miles of clunky stainless steel handrails, railway sleepers and oceans of concrete popped involuntarily into your head. It doesn’t have to be like this.  Let’s talk accessibility and changing demographics. Let’s explode the myth that designing for limited mobility is by definition an imposition, a… Read more »