Sensory Dementia-Friendly Garden
Our Sensory Dementia-Friendly Garden
Our residents benefit from our large, sensory garden at the rear of St Martins which is a wonderful, tranquil and safe space to chat to friends or wander the figure of 8 path around the garden. It incorporates the best design principles for dementia care and research from the Kings Fund Institute on Enhancing the Healing Environment and used grants received from the Department of Health to fund its construction.
It was completed in 2014 and the garden has successfully helped to combat the challenging behaviours such as aggression and frustration often associated with dementia, by triggering memories, and stimulating the senses with floral fragrances. The figure of eight pattern helps sufferers who like to wander. There is also a colourful section to encourage sense stimulation, a village green-style area complete with bus stop and post box and a social area for garden games.
The garden also includes an area where residents can cultivate plants, a small pergola with heating away from the house for reading or chatting in a more sheltered environment.
Beautiful garden, mum is happy here, positive change.
The staff are great.