There are currently estimated to be 982,000 people with dementia in the UK. This number is expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.
However, dementia doesn’t just impact the sufferers. The impacts of dementia ripple through families and communities, leaving people unsure as to how to support their loved one through the condition.
However, according to experts, gardening is one of the most beneficial hobbies for people suffering with dementia.
Lauren Frake, Elderly Care Expert at Taking Care Personal Alarms spoke with gardening experts to find the best possible gardening hacks to support people with dementia.:
Frake said: “Maintaining physical and cognitive functions is important to keep the brain stimulated, and many of our alarm users report that gardening is a great place to start.
“With its constant engagement and sensory stimulation, it can provide a welcome distraction and therapeutic benefits for individuals with dementia.”
Gardening hacks to support people with dementia
Reintroduce the person to their garden and spend time exploring the environment
Reintroducing a person with dementia to their garden can open a world of possibilities for them.
Frake recommends walking the person around their garden, letting them feel and touch the plants – especially ones with bright colours and textures.
This will help distract them and enable them to focus on what they are doing at that moment.
Frake added: “It is also good to provide some clear guidance around the garden tasks they can get involved in, and breaking these steps down into manageable bitesize chunks so they don’t feel overwhelmed.
“However, as much as gardening is a great social activity and may provide some guidance at first, we recommend encouraging them to take autonomy of some of the gardening, so they feel a sense of independence and individual achievement. Just keep an eye on them to make sure they are safe and in distance if they need you.”
Explore sensory gardens
Nick White, Nature Recovery Ranger for Centre of Sustainable healthcare said:
“One of the ways to view dementia is like shaking a full bookshelf, with your earliest memories at the bottom and your most recent memories at the top.”
He continues: “When you shake the bookcase the first books to fall are the ones at the top, representing your most recent memories, while those at the bottom, your core childhood and embedded memories, fall last.
“For many people, being amongst nature and gardening is part of their core, childhood memories which is why gardening and being outdoors can be so beneficial and bring so much comfort to those suffering with dementia”.
White added that his experience of designing garden activities for people with dementia revealed to him that sensory gardens and different types of plants can help with dementia.
“We often design sensory gardens brimming with plants that have calming colours, textures, and scents,” White explains.
“The combination of these different types of sensory plants can often trigger recollection of distant memories.”
Even small gardening tasks can be beneficial
Rebecca Van Den Boogaard, Vocational Horticulture Learning Tutor at Workbridge and St Andrew’s Healthcare said that gardening can be very beneficial in the early stages of dementia.
She advised: “As a rule of thumb, spikey or toxic plants should be avoided, and the key is to keep it simple.
“Activities and plants that I would recommend are mowing, growing fruit, vegetables, annuals, and herbs. Feeding the birds is also rewarding.”
As for what to grow?
Boogaard said: “Peas are easy to sow and a quick crop, (and delicious eaten straight from the vine), as are lettuces, perpetual spinach, and radishes. Sensory plants with strong scents and even flavours are excellent.
“I recommend stocks, lavender, calendula, nasturtium, Mint, oregano, thyme, fennel, sweet peas, and common jasmine.”
Explore seasonal plants to remind them about the time of year
Dr Susanne Lux, Project Manager for Pelargonium Europe said: “Flowers and plants are well-known mood enhancers and sitting or walking in a beautiful, blooming garden can have a positive effect on our emotional wellbeing and mental health.
“For a person suffering with dementia-related memory loss, different varieties of plants may help to remind them of the time of year, such as daffodils at the start of spring or sun-loving plants like geraniums which herald the onset of summer. The olfactory sense is very evocative, and it may be possible for intensely perfumed flowering plants to trigger happy memories whilst also having a soothing effect.”