Landscaping Accessibility: Wheelchair Accessible, the Visually Impaired, and Therapeutic Gardens

Being in nature adds to everybody’s spirit. Whether you’re feeling down or treating being in nature as a celebratory event, it’s important that you enjoy it to the fullest. However, folks with special landscaping needs tend to have trouble in this department because landscaping isn’t always tailored to them.

In this post, we’ll provide you with tips for landscaping for wheelchairs, the visually impaired, and therapeutic well-being.

Wheelchair Accessible Landscaping

Regarding making landscaping more wheelchair accessible, there are some non-negotiables, such as installing wheelchair ramps where necessary, using non-slip decking, and including wheelchair-accessible seating. But when it comes to actually being in the thick of things, there are five recommended things to focus on: pathways, planters, watering, vertical gardens, and handrails.

Pathways

The overarching goal here is to ensure that a wheelchair can easily glide over pathways with minimal effort. Choosing firm, level, and smooth materials is important to ensure that wheelchair tires and other walking aids don’t get stuck in the soil or otherwise disrupted. It’s also a nice touch to provide clear borders to indicate where the path ends–these could be raised brick or stone, knee-height hedges, or something else that matches your garden.

Planters

If you plan on doing lawn care maintenance yourself, it can be helpful to use narrow planters less than two feet wide so every part of the soil can be reached from a chair.

Watering

Using lightweight watering that is easy to lift and carry is a must. There are also adapted garden sprays that can attach to wheelchairs. And, of course, it is usually worth investing in automated smart irrigation systems that you can control from a mobile phone.

Vertical Gardens

Vertical gardens are a beautiful and innovative way to save space and keep your garden floor clean of clutter. Plus, they can be set at any height, so you can choose what works best for you. They can even be built inside if your property doesn’t have lots of outdoor space.

Handrails

Handrails are a helpful feature to have no matter where you go; they’re just uncommon in gardens, so sometimes a reminder is necessary. As long as they’re sturdy, you can get creative with handrails and build them into your hardscaping.

Therapeutic Landscaping

Therapeutic landscaping is designed to improve mental and physical health by encouraging a calming interaction with nature. Lots of people enjoy therapeutic landscapes, even if they’re not struggling with any mental or physical illnesses. Here are some common features of a therapeutic landscape:

Natural Materials

Therapeutic landscaping focuses heavily on natural materials like wood, stone, and gravel. They not only enrich your sensory experience, but they’re also more sustainable, which can be particularly beneficial to folks who are ill. The natural effect encourages feelings of comfort, resilience, and mindfulness.

Water Features

Water features are known for soothing the mind. Whether it’s the calming sounds or simply the idea that you’re near body water and, therefore, on vacation, water features naturally evoke a sense of serenity.

Seating

Including places to sit and observe nature is crucial. Listening to the sounds of the birds and the water is a great mindfulness technique. The whole point of a therapeutic landscape is to sit out and soak it in.

Focal Points

While focal points are important in any landscape, they are particularly important for therapeutic landscapes because they provide something to focus on during reflection and meditation. The focal point usually ends up being some sort of water feature, but it doesn’t have to be.

Low-Maintenance

A therapeutic landscape is supposed to be a place you come to relax. Every landscape needs maintenance, but ultimately, you want to keep it as low-maintenance as possible so as not to muddy the serene feeling.

Wildlife

Animals are known to provide healing energy, which means you want to incorporate features that attract wildlife. Of course, you can tune this to attract the specific wildlife you enjoy, such as birds, butterflies, or even fish.