Healing Garden

Rantings of a frustrated therapeutic landscape advocate

January 24, 2009 | by

Thank goodness! Two good images of therapeutic landscapes:
 Stream at McKee Medical Center, courtesy BHA Design Incorporated 

Okay, I’m annoyed. Maybe even more than annoyed. I just looked online at more than 15 sites of landscape architects who design therapeutic landscapes, searching for nice pictures to put on this blog, and I found three. What’s up with that? Why are so many healing gardens so ugly? Or is it just the photographs that make them look bad? You’d think that these big design firms – and some of them are big, award-winning design firms – would make the effort to take really kick-ass photos of their projects. Great colors, high resolution, clean the dead leaves off the walkway before taking the picture… Sigh. How are we supposed to convince others that therapeutic landscapes are worth building when we designers can’t even portray them well on our own websites? Granted, the outcomes are what matter most – if the people served by the garden/s benefit, that’s the most important thing. These outcomes are not usually measured in any sort of quantifiable way, but that’s another story for another time. What I’m talking about here is pure and simple marketing – to other designers, to hospitals, to clients. Maybe the first motto is “build it and they will come,” but the second one is “make it look good and the money will come.”
Here are some possible explanations for what I view as a real flaw. Some have to do with the aesthetics and efforts of the designer, which are easier to remedy, while others are problems that are much harder to control, and therefore to alleviate. I spend almost all of my time celebrating and advocating for therapeutic landscapes, so humor me while I explore ask, and try to answer, some tough questions. I hope that rather than just being a downer, this post creates some serious discussion about what we can do better in the future.
1. It’s the documentation that’s ugly, not the gardens themselves
Landscape architects often don’t have big budgets for healthcare projects. In fact, many are “pro bono,” meaning that the LA firm donates their time. The less corporate the institution, the more they rely on the generosity of the designer, the builder, and members of the community for “sweat equity” of one kind or another. So if the designer has already donated hundreds of hours in programming, design, and construction oversight, there’s not a lot left for high-quality documentation, which is really what’s needed. Instead, someone from the firm goes out with a simple digital camera and does his or her best at taking pictures, and they get put on the website. Also, of course, if a lot of the material and labor is donated, the final design may not be quite as aesthetically pleasing as the designer – or even the client – intended. But people make do, and are often grateful for what they get. Heck, it’s better than a big empty yard full of dirt, they figure. And it is! But it still doesn’t look very good in pictures. 
2. Bad visuals in general
You’d be surprised how many designers’ websites themselves are hideous. I mean, these are visual people! What are they thinking? If a designer puts so little effort into their online presence, then it’s not surprising that images of their projects are not exactly stellar, either. Maybe their printed material is better. Maybe they just believe that “you have to be there” and that’s that.
3. Privacy, and shiny happy people
To get permission to photograph patients and their families anywhere in a healthcare environment is very, very difficult. Often it’s impossible. All sorts of issues with HEPA and privacy and liability. So here you have these landscapes that were designed for people, and you can’t take pictures of those people using the space. And if you do get permission, you’ve got the challenge of making people who are unwell look good. I’m sorry, I know that doesn’t sound very nice. But think about it: Our society is terrified of death and disease. We don’t want to see old or sick people. It makes us feel scared and icky. We want to see well children – the hope of the future! – bouncing around and playing happily in some idyllic park-like setting. That is, I think, why the Children & Nature Network, which I very much respect, has been so successful. Just as polar bears are easier to support than some weird-looking toad, children are easier to rally around than the people our society would rather pretend aren’t there. Landscape Architecture Magazine published an article about the St. Louis Children’s Garden several years ago, and I so admire them for taking pictures of people using the space. The images were beautiful and compassionate, of a beautiful garden, with all sorts of different people, including those in wheelchairs and bandages and IV poles, enjoying and benefiting from the space. Really moving and well done. But again, they have the budget to overcome privacy hurdles, to art direct, and to use the right equipment to portray the project in the best light.
4. Maintenance
Maintenance, in general, is the bane of the landscape architect’s existence, but it’s even more of an issue in places where improper or insufficient maintenance can run from actually creating a dangerous situation for users (like cracked pavement, broken benches, or water fountains that aren’t cleaned the way they should be) to just being ugly (which, in an environment where beauty and life combat the stress of being sick, is another kind of dangerous). Let’s say you’re a design firm, and you finish a project at a medium-sized healthcare facility, one that raised a goodly sum for the design and construction of a “healing garden.” You don’t want to take pictures right after the garden is installed because the plantings need time to fill in, so you wait until the next season, or the next year, to go back and document. Meanwhile, it’s all fallen apart, or at least hasn’t been kept up to where taking great pictures is an option. You’d be surprised at how few fundraising campaigns budget for ongoing maintenance. Usually there’s little or no money new annual plantings, or tools, or a dedicated maintenance person/team. Often the upkeep falls upon the already over-burdened medical staff (nurses, horticultural therapists, volunteers). I once saw a dead tree in a pot in a “healing garden.” Maybe it looked lovely when that tree was alive, but the message when I saw it was not very confidence-inspiring: “If they can’t take care of a simple tree, what does that say about how they’re going to treat me or my loved one?” Do us a favor. Take the tree away. Or here’s another example, from an undisclosed hospital’s “rose garden.” Once upon a time, this pocket was filled with pamphlets that guided visitors through the rose garden, informing and inspiring them as they stopped to smell the roses. Now it’s just a cesspool of dirty water, and a clear indicator that someone is not paying attention.

4. Too much hardscape, not enough plants
Therapeutic landscapes require a fair amount of hardscape to be universally accessible, and hardscape – as opposed to planted “softscape” of lawns, big planting beds, mulch paths, etc. – don’t photograph well. But here is an example of a problem in which the photos give us some very clear insight: If we’ve learned one thing in the thirty years of quantitative research on what gardens have the most beneficial impact in the healthcare setting, it’s that the more green and lushly planted the garden, the better the outcome for patients, visitors, and staff. After all, the landscape is providing a contrast to the scary, sterile, hospital or clinic environment. It is supposed to literally be a breath of fresh air, and the more “nature” people encounter when they step out those hospital doors, the better. So if we’re seeing lots of pavement and other hard surfaces in pictures, that’s a clear indication that there’s not enough plant material to soften the effect. This, in my opinion, is a major flaw in design and execution, one that has serious ramifications for users, not just for marketing.
I’m sure there are other reasons for the dearth of good photos of therapeutic landscapes. Feel free to weigh in! Comments please! How much of this is really a problem and how much is just annoying? Who knows? I would love to see the following studies:
1. How good documentation of successful design projects increases the likelihood of more such projects being built in the future. 
2.  How maintenance – the good, the bad, and the non-existent – affects user outcomes in the healthcare environment. 

Plant a Tree: A truly “green” gift

January 19, 2009 | by

Image courtesy Henry Domke Fine Art

Trying to think of something different, and preferably sustainable and economical for your Valentine this year? How ’bout planting a tree? Or two, or three, or an acre-full… 

Trees Instead and The Trees Remember are two companies that will plant a tree for any occasion, including Valentine’s Day. Heck you could also plant a tree for MLK Jr.’s birthday today, for Obama’s inauguration tomorrow…whatever the occasion, from births to weddings to memorials, Trees Instead and The Trees Remember have a tree for you. These companies both look great, so spread the love and support them both, o.k.?


Did you know that trees are the largest and longest living organisms on earth? That’s a pretty apt birth, birthday, Valentine’s, or memorial gift, if you ask me. Furthermore, one tree can absorb about a ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime, and produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year – the equivalent of the amount consumed by 18 people annually. For more fun facts about trees and their importance, see Trees Are Good, by the International Society of Arboriculture.

So forget the diamonds, baby, give a tree!

Trees Instead: www.treesinstead.com 
The Trees Remember: www.thetreesremember.com

(Especially in Winter), Feed the Birds

January 12, 2009 | by

White-throated sparrow. Photo by Henry Domke, www.henrydomke.com

White-throated sparrow. Photo by Henry Domke, www.henrydomke.com

A bird’s life is tough in winter when food supplies and drinking water are scarce. This makes it an ideal time for us humans to participate in “armchair birdwatching.” If you keep your feeders and baths full and clean (and heated, if temperatures gets below freezing), you’ll get to enjoy the show when your feathered friends come to visit. It’s a wonderful way to get kids interested in nature – who wouldn’t be excited about spotting a brilliant red cardinal or a bright yellow goldfinch? Armchair bird-watching can be enjoyed at any age. My great-aunt Stefanie, who is 94, loves watching the birds, especially on days when she can’t go outside. The other day I spied some kind of woodpecker with a brilliant red patch on its nape that put even the most showy cardinal to shame. I looked it up in my Field Guide to Birds of North America (which I keep near the window for precisely this reason, just as my parents did when I was growing up) and learned that it was a yellow-shafted northern flicker. Who knew? There’s something about seeing and watching birds that elicits fascination, wonder and delight in even the most curmudgeonly sorts, and you don’t even have to leave the cozy warmth of your home.

Here are some links if you want to learn more, do more or buy more to watch the birds and help them at the same time:

And here are some sites and articles specifically about winter bird-feeding:

If you buy one book on bird-watching, it should be a field guide to help you identify what you see. A guide to birds in your area is probably sufficient (see the first book on the list below for my favorite regional guide). Other recommendations for book on bird-watching and creating a garden for birds include:

  • My favorite book for the past couple of year has been the Birds of New York Field Guide, by Stan Tekiela – There’s one for every state, and some come with cds to help you identify bird calls: www.adventurepublications.net.
  • The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher
  • The National Wildlife Federation Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Backyard Wildlife
  • Sally Roth’s Attracting Birds to Your Backyard
  • The Backyard Birdlover’s Field Guide, by the same author
  • Projects for the Birder’s Garden

Gardening is Good Therapy

January 11, 2009 | by

Image courtesy Henry Domke Fine Art


Check out this article from the Chronicle Herald Nova Scotia, “Gardening is good therapy,” by Beverley Ware, about women at a women’s center in Lunenberg. Click HERE or on the title above to link to the article. 

According to Nancy Chambers, Director at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitative Medicine’s Enid A. Haupt Glass Gardens in New York City, “horticultural therapy is the modern professional discipline that uses planting and gardening activities to help patients improve their physical and psychological condition.”*

To learn more about horticultural therapy, go to the American Horticultural Therapy Association’s and the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association’s websites.


*Chambers, Nancy (2003). “Horticultural Therapy and Infection Control in the Healthcare Environment.” Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture, Vol. XIV, pp. 56-61.

What’s a healing garden?

January 9, 2009 | by

For all you twitterers out there who have just started following the Therapeutic Landscapes Network Blog, this posting’s for you:

What’s a healing garden? 
Short answer: A healing garden is any outdoor space that facilitates health and well-being through contact with nature. 
It’s that simple. Sort of. If you want the longer answer, see an earlier two-part posting: (http://tldb.blogspot.com/2008/08/isnt-every-garden-healing-garden-part-i.html and (http://tldb.blogspot.com/2008/08/isnt-every-garden-healing-garden-part.html). 

I haven’t written much about planting the healing garden yet, but I think it’s time to start doing so. I’ll devote at least two posts a week to this topic, and more if people want more. If you’ve been following this blog for a little while, you know I try to span the various bridges between design and healthcare and academia and home gardening – we’re all interested in the same thing: Learning and exchanging information about how nature improves health and well-being. We just sometimes talk about it in different ways. 

For those of you new to twitter, you can follow me and the Therapeutic Landscapes Network there at: http://twitter.com/healinggarden. And please, if you like this blog, please become a follower here as well! Just click on “Follow this blog” in the right-hand column.

The need for natural light, part III

January 5, 2009 | by


Let’s see, which hospital room would you rather stay in? This one (A)?


Or this one (B)?

Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center, Carson City, NV
As for me, I’d choose B. There are lots of reasons why I think B is better than the A, but high on the list is that B has lots of windows that not only look out onto a view that even homebuyers would pay good money for, but that let in copious natural light as well. 

And so we come to the Part III of “The need for natural light.” 

The benefits of natural light – at home, at work and school, and in the healthcare setting – have been well documented. People fare better when they have access to natural light. For example, a 1998 study found that sun exposure in the workplace environment increased worker satisfaction and performance, including lowering intention to quit and reducing fatigue (that same study, by Leather et al., found that providing views of nature also increased satisfaction, particularly in high-stress environments). A landmark “Daylighting in Schools” study found that students in classrooms with more natural light scored as much as 25% higher on standardized tests than other students in the same school district (see references below for full citation and to link to the condensed study). 

As for healthcare: Roger Ulrich and colleagues have found exposure to natural light to be an important factor in environments for healing. Exposure to sunlight can reduce depression, alleviate stress, and even reduce pain. In addition to providing essential dosages of Vitamin D, sunlight increases our levels of serotonin, which in turn inhibits pain. In their recent literature review of evidence-based healthcare design, Ulrich et al. cite a study by Walch and colleagues of post-operative spinal surgery patients. Patients with sunnier rooms reported less stress and took 22% less analgesic pain relief medication (see Ulrich et al, 2008, below). 

In her new, excellent book A Visual Reference for Evidence-Based Design, Jain Malkin lists daylight as one of the key ingredients in creating a successful Environment of Care: “There is a major focus on the importance of natural light and views, access to gardens, and clarity of wayfinding.” In Chapter 4, “Incorporating Research into Design Features,” lighting is first on the list: “Lighting–both natural and electric–is the most important component of an interior environment. Adequate exposure to natural light is essential for biological health and entrainment of circadian rhythm. Research indicates that patients in rooms that receive more sunlight are less depressed and have reduced length of stay.” Malkin also mentions benefits to staff members (pp. 63-65; see full citation below). 
So what does all of this have to do with therapeutic landscapes? 

Simple: Windows that let in natural light… 

The waiting room at Santa Fe Cancer Center at St. Vincent Hospital 
looks out onto the healing garden (Santa Fe, New Mexico)

…can also offer views to the outside world (even skylights can sometimes give us views of blue sky and/or clouds). As Ulrich et al. state in their most recent (2008) literature review, “Larger windows in patient rooms not only provide natural light, but they also have the potential benefit of offering views of nature and should be considered in the design process.” 

Healing garden at St. Vincent Hospital, Santa Fe, NM 
(note the mirrored windows – they provide privacy for those inside 
while also reflecting the garden to make it appear larger).

And as we know from Ulrich’s and other studies, window views to something more interesting than a brick wall, or the building’s air conditioning system, elicit better outcomes. And the research also suggests that more naturalistic the setting, the better the outcome (again, see Ulrich et al, 2008, below).


Lobby at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center, Carson City, NV



All of this research notwithstanding, there are times when natural light can be too much of or not enough of a good thing.

Too much of a good thing: 

1. When light = sun = heat. In hot climates, keeping light out is one important way of regulating the temperature. Whether inside the building or out, people seek shade when temperatures rise above the human comfort zone. Though it’s beautiful and exemplary in many ways, I’m actually not sure how I’d feel in the above Carson City lobby on a hot day in August…but maybe they’ve got it all figured out with awnings, blinds, or some other technology (besides just more AC). 

2. When light = glare. For example, as I write this, the sun is starting to stream into my office, which would be lovely if it didn’t glance off of my computer screen. Time to draw the curtain. And glare can truly be a problem, especially for people like the elderly who are glare-sensitive. 

3. This last point isn’t so much to do with light as with privacy. The one drawback of a window, especially on a ground floor looking out onto a garden, is that if users inside can see out, then people outside can usually see in. Designers of hospitals with interior courtyards often grapple with the double challenge of the “fishbowl effect” (feeling like everyone can see you when you’re in the garden) and not wanting to violate the privacy of those indoors. Designers have found all sorts of clever ways to address this issue, including at St. Vincent Hospital, above, where mirrored windows allow users inside to see the garden whilst keeping their privacy intact, and users outside get the sense of an even larger and more verdant garden (yep, the old mirror trick can work in the landscape as well).

Window coverings: That 1998 workplace study I mentioned earlier also suggested providing users with ways to control the amount of light (curtains, etc.). As we also know from research, providing people with choices is another way to reduce stress and bolster a feeling of control over one’s environment. Whether those operable window coverings are used to control light for temperature regulation, glare, privacy, or just personal preference, they should be provided whenever possible.
Not enough of a good thing: Seasonal Affective Disorder and Sundowners Syndrome. Sometimes natural light has to be augmented or adjusted, as in these two examples below.

1. Another issue with natural light is that in the winter, there just isn’t enough of it. We’ve all heard of SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder, and this is a real thing. Just as plants need grow-lights in the winter because even sitting in a sunny windowsill isn’t enough, some people need additional light, too. Full spectrum light therapy, at doses of 2500 – 10,000 lux, has been found to be as or even more effective than anti-depressants for some SAD sufferers. 

2. For people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, exposure to light and the color of light should be controlled and regulated to avoid mood changes and disruptive behaviors, particularly those brought on by “sundowners syndrome.” In two studies by Melinda La Garce, the effects of “Sundowner’s Syndrome” and other light-related problems were reduced by adding “full spectrum lighting to simulate daylight, shading devices to reduce sun angle change and shadows, and light monitors to keep the light intensity the same throughout the day and evening.” In the 2004 study, La Garce noted that the sun’s altitude, which changes over the course of the year, affects the color, intensity, and angle of daylight. She also found that the color of light seemed to play a stronger role than shadows and light intensity. 

As I’ve mentioned in the past (see, for example, “When the Weather Outside is Frightful”),  indoor atria are another great way to provide access to natural light and nature, even on days when going outside is not an option. This image is of the Fourth Floor Atrium at the University of Alberta Hospital in Canada. To see more examples, link to Shane Pliska’s article in Interiorscape Magazine.

References 

Crockett, Jim (2004). “Healthy Daylight and Healthy Darkness: What our Bodies Need.” Consulting-Specifying Engineer. Click HERE to link to the article.

Darling, Tammy (1993). “Seeing the light: why your body needs regular doses of natural light.” American Fitness, Nov-Dec. Click HERE to link to the article.

Gross, Raz, Yehuda Sasson, Moshe Zarhy, and Joseph Zohar (1998). “Healing Environment in Psychiatric Hospital Design.” General Hospital Psychiatry, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 108-114. Read the summary by InformeDesign.

Heschong, Lisa and Heschong Mahone Group (1999). “Daylighting in Schools: An Investigation into the Relationships Between Daylighting and Human Performance.” Commissioned by California Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Click HERE to link to the condensed report.

Horowitz, Steven G., M.D. (1998). “Design Trends: Designing for Advanced Therapeutic Outcomes – Acute Care.” Journal of Healthcare Design, Vol. 7. Read the summary by InformeDesign.

La Garce, Melinda. (2004). “Daylight Interventions and Alzheimer’s Behaviors – A Twelve-Month Study.” Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, Volume 23, Issue 3, pp. 257-269. Read the summary by InformeDesign.

La Garce, Melinda. (2002). “Lighting Affects Behavior of Alzheimer’s Patients.” Journal of Interior Design, Volume 28, Issue 2, pp. 15-25. Read the summary by InformeDesign.

Leather, Phil, Mike Pyrgas, Di Beale, and Claire Lawrence (1998). “Windows in the Workplace: Sunlight, View, and Occupational Stress.” Environment and Behavior, Vol. 30, No. 6, pp. 739-762. Read the summary by InformeDesign.

Malkin, Jain (2008). A Visual Reference for Evidence-Based Design. The Center for Health Design. 

van Bommel, W. J. M. and G. J. van den Beld (2004). “Lighting for Work: A Review of Visual and Biological Effects.” Lighting Research and Technology, Volume 36, No. 4, pp. 255-269. Read the summary by InformeDesign. 

Ulrich, R. S., Craig Zimring, Xuemei Zhu, Jennifer DuBose, and Hyun-Bo Seo, Young-Seon Choi, Xiaobo Quan, and Anjali Joseph. (2008). A Review of the Research Literature on Evidence-Based Healthcare Design. Published in Health Environments Research & Design Journal, Vol. 1, No. 3, Spring, pp. 61-125. Click HERE to read the abstract. 

Ulrich, R. S., C. Zimring, A. Joseph, X. Quan, and R. Choudhary. (2004). The Role of the Physical Environment in the Hospital of the 21st Century: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity. Concord, CA: Center for Health Design. Read the summary and access the full report at the Center for Health Design.

Walch, J. M., B. S. Rabin, R. Day, J. N. Williams, K. Choi, and J. D. Kang. (2004). “The effect of sunlight on post-operative analgesic medication usage: A prospective study of patients undergoing spinal surgery.” Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol. 67, pp. 156-163.

Like this blog? Show your support!

January 4, 2009 | by

Prothonotary warbler, courtesy Henry Domke Fine Art

Ah, the lonely life of the long-distance blogger. We sit in our offices or houses or cafes, typing away, sending off missives that – we hope – others will read and be informed or amused or inspired by. For me, as Director of the Therapeutic Landscapes Network, blogging is a way to convey the most current information, research, and news about landscapes for health. The blog keeps things fresh. It also makes me feel more connected with the far-flung international community of designers, health and human service providers, scholars, and others interested in this exciting and rewarding field of therapeutic landscapes. There are quite a few of us, but we don’t get to talk or meet very often, and that in itself can make one feel isolated at times. I’ve received many emails over the years thanking the TLN for being there, like this one from a student in China: “The materials and information you offered encourage me a lot and I am not feeling lonely in what I am doing now.” I love getting these emails because they remind me that the Therapeutic Landscapes Network and Blog do, indeed, make a difference. 

So: Like this blog and want to show your support? Clap your virtual hands and let me know! 

Research has shown that in the healthcare setting, choice gives people a sense of control, and therefore reduces stress. With that in mind, here are three choices of how you can support this blog. Choose one, and/or two, and/or all three.  All of these options will let others know that you think this blog is important, and will let me know that you want me to keep blogging away. Bet you’re feeling less stressed already!


Here are your options, all located on the right-hand column of this blog:

1. Become a Follower (click on “Follow This Blog” just below the fern image): This shows other readers and the blogger (me) that you are following this blog (rather than just looking at it once and never coming back). You can follow publicly or anonymously. Click HERE to read more about how it works.

2. Subscribe to have blog updates emailed to your inbox (located just above the Followers) or sign up for RSS feed (scroll down for this). Click HERE for the best explanation I’ve found about RSS, or see this Wikipedia entry or What Is RSS?

3. Donate money! Every little bit helps (and a lot helps even more). Right now we’re raising funds to update our website; one of the first goals is to combine this blog and the Therapeutic Landscapes Database website under one virtual roof. Help us get there by clicking on HERE or on the “Donate” icon at the top of the left-hand column, or by sending a check, made out to TLRC, to P.O. Box 728, Beacon, NY, 12508.

Oh, and perhaps it’s time I put a face to the name:

Naomi Sachs, ASLA, Founder and Director, Therapeutic Landscapes Network

Thank you, and keep in touch!

Gardening Leave – one great answer to PTSD

December 24, 2008 | by

Image courtesy Gardening Leave
It’s Christmas Eve, and no matter what your political views are, you have to admit: It’s awful for servicemen and women stuck overseas and separated from their families, especially during the holidays. That old WWII song “I’ll be home for Christmas” still carries a lot of weight. And unfortunately, the trauma doesn’t stop once people are discharged. Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are experiencing high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. In the U.S., our VA system is not at all well equipped to deal with the problem. Horticultural and animal-assisted therapy have both been found to be very helpful for people with PTSD, and in Scotland, one charity is addressing the issue in a very thoughtful and pragmatic way.

Gardening Leave oversees “horticultural therapy projects for ex-Servicemen and women growing fruit and vegetables in walled gardens which will provide a peaceful, unpressurised environment where veterans can participate as much or as little as they choose in the life cycle of the kitchen garden.”

Pretty cool, huh? Check out their website for more information, images, and videos: www.gardeningleave.org. If anyone knows of something similar in the U.S. or elsewhere, please leave a comment and let me know!

Happy, peaceful, safe, and joyous holidays!

New study on landscape preferences

December 18, 2008 | by

Image courtesy Henry Domke Fine Art
Complexity, openness, and water. According to a 2007 study by Ke-Tsung Han, these are three of the most preferred physical landscape characteristics.* 

One of the questions designers of therapeutic landscapes grapple with is what kind of landscape will elicit the best outcomes for our clients. Even before we think about plant material, we have to decide how the space should be organized. Should it feel open or enclosed? Have a sense of mystery or be instantly “legible” to the user? And then how much plant material to use, and how to use it. To some extent, the answers are dependent on your intended user and on the space you have to work with. Unfortunately, for those who like to design spaces based on research (this is called Evidence-Based Design, or EBD), there’s not a whole lot out there for us to go on. One thing we know for sure: the majority of people, especially in a healthcare setting, prefer a high ratio of green, or “softscape,” to hardscape (paving, walls, etc.). Therefore, the more we can use plant material (rather than hardscape) to create space, the better; and the lusher that environment is, the more restorative it will feel. We have also seen a fair amount of evidence that people like and respond well to landscapes with water. 

This week InformeDesign, one of the best resources for EBD-oriented designers, summarizes a study about such preferences. It’s a great addition to a growing body of research. Click HERE to read the summary, or contact Environment and Behavior directly for the full article. Next, I’d love to see this study repeated with different populations (people of different ages, ethnic backgrounds, countries, etc.), and measured for actual outcomes rather than restorative potential.  

*Han, Ke-Tsung (2007). “Responses to Six Major Terrestrial Biomes in Terms of Scenic Beauty, Preference, and Restorativeness,” Environment and Behavior, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 529-556.

Note: The above image was not one used in the study, but I think it illustrates the three physical characteristics of complexity, openness, and water.

Seedheads for Winter Interest

November 28, 2008 | by

It never ceases to amaze me how fast things change in the northeast when winter comes around. 
Here in the Hudson Valley, what was green and almost frighteningly verdant in September bursts into flames of yellow, orange, and red in October as the weather grows colder and the days become shorter. Then a hard frost hits in November and the landscape is transformed once again, this time into a muted tapestry of blondes, tans, browns and greys, with the blue sky and its early sunsets serving up the brightest colors of the day. If you, too, live in a cold climate and you haven’t already finished your garden cleanup for the year, it’s time to get out there before the snow hits (and transforms the landscape once again). 
I always encourage people not to cut their perennials and grasses back too fiercely in the fall. Leave some seed heads on those coneflowers, goldenrods (above), and the like – the birds will thank you for it, as will you on a snowy winter’s day when the seed heads sport delightful little snow caps and the grasses wave gracefully from a blanket of snow (or frozen mud in March). 
In a more institutional setting like a hospital, nursing home, or even a public park, this unkempt look may be a hard sell – many people like things to look neat and tidy because that’s what they’re used to. I don’t know of any studies that have looked specifically at people’s preferences between the wilder look and the more manicured, but I do know that education can go a long way. When people learn about the benefits to wildlife, or about collecting seeds, or even are just turned on to a different point of view, they may change their mind and appreciate those scraggly seed heads rather than just seeing them as “dead flowers that need cleaning up.” Hey, it’s worth a shot, right?  
Some good resources to inspire you and/or your clients: 
This is a great website with a wealth of resources: Winter Gardening: A Guide to Selected Resources.

Plus a few more:
Seedheads in the Garden, by Noel Kingsbury
Brooklyn Botanic Garden article: “Inviting Wildlife into Your Winter Garden.”
Lots more where that came from, just Google “garden in winter” or “planting for winter interest.”
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