About Therapeutic Gardens
A Word About Therapeutic Gardens
These gardens are specifically designed to address a variety of applications within healthcare, rehabilitative and other therapeutic settings.
In recent years we have seen a significant upswing of interest in therapeutic gardens. In fact, the American Society of Landscape Architects maintains a professional practice network of consultants who specialize in designing therapeutic gardens.
A therapeutic garden is a plant-dominated environment purposefully designed to facilitate interaction with the healing elements of nature. Interactions can be passive or active depending on the garden design and users’ needs. There are many sub-types of therapeutic gardens including healing gardens, enabling gardens, rehabilitation gardens, and restorative gardens.
Frequently, landscape designers collaborate with horticultural therapists to create beautiful spaces that accommodate people with a wide range of abilities. While these gardens may represent the ideal, successful horticultural therapy programs do not depend upon elaborate garden design. Likewise, a professionally-designed therapeutic garden without a horticultural therapy program is unlikely to deliver to its full potential.
What Makes a Garden Therapeutic?
The basic features of a therapeutic garden can include:
- Wide and gently graded accessible entrances and paths
- Raised planting beds and containers
- Sensory-oriented plant selection focused on color, texture, and fragrance.
A horticultural therapist uses a therapeutic garden as a tool to engage a participant in horticultural activities. Therapeutic gardens incorporating the AHTA Therapeutic Garden Design Characteristics are gardens designed to provide a horticultural therapy environment.
Garden Definitions
AHTA developed the first therapeutic garden characteristics in 1995. Specific to the use of horticulture as a therapeutic modality, the therapeutic garden serves both program types.
A therapeutic garden is designed for use as a component of a treatment, rehabilitation, or vocational program. A garden can be described as being therapeutic in nature when it has been designed to meet the needs of a specific user or population. It is designed to accommodate participant’s goals and to facilitate people-plant interactions.
American Society of Landscape Architects: Healthcare and Therapeutic Design Professional Practice Network
Therapeutic Landscapes Network: A resource for gardens and landscapes that promote health and well-being.
The Heart of the Hospital: At a level 1 trauma hospital in Portland, Oregon, nature is being deeply incorporated to improve patient care and outcomes through a therapeutic garden.
Leading Perspectives on Therapeutic Gardens (Resources)
View the AHTA Therapeutic Garden Design Award
Each year, the AHTA awards an outstanding therapeutic garden design that publicizes excellence in therapeutic design and horticultural therapy programming.