10/22/22, 12:59 AM How to Design a Senior-Friendly Landscape That Everyone Can Enjoy

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How to Design a Senior-Friendly Landscape

That Everyone Can Enjoy
Watering & Gardening Outdoor
Read a design expert’s tips for creating an outdoor space that’s both attractive and Irrigation Tools Decor
practical for all ages

Georgia Madden October 24, 2019

Senior writer, Houzz Australia More
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& Planters Statues & Power
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Limited mobility, vision and agility can play a big role in how much someone enjoys
and uses an outdoor space, but a lot can be done to make a home landscape more
hospitable to older adults. We spoke with Evette Moran, designer of the award-
winning garden at the Mark Moran Vaucluse senior living facility in New South
Wales, Australia, who shared her tips for creating a landscape that’s appealing, low-
maintenance and safe for seniors and others.

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Provide shade. It’s important to have shade for seniors in the garden, especially
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suffer from heatstroke.

Include seating. It’s important to have several comfortable and stable seating
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Choose lightweight garden tools. Lightweight, easy-to-handle tools are less
likely to| slip out of hands
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Evette Moran tends to the garden she designed for the Mark Moran Vaucluse
center in Australia.

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Include plenty of flat surfaces.

Ensure that walkways are spacious and easy to navigate.

Create zones in the garden for different types of plants, such as native species,
vegetables and fruit trees. This makes the garden an interesting place to spend
time in, and zones make it easy to move around.

Semken Landscaping

Factor In Older Adults’ Specific Health Needs

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Vision impairment. It’s common for vision to deteriorate as we age; the results
range from needing glasses to suffering a complete loss of vision. This is one of
the most important things to factor in when planning for accessibility and activity in
the garden.

Body-temperature issues. The older we get, the quicker we can become

dehydrated, which can also lead to heat exhaustion. Ensure easy access to water
as well as to rest spots and shade.

Eckersley Garden Architecture

Choose Low-Maintenance
Plants

Make your senior-friendly

garden as easy to care for as
possible. Choose plants, trees
and vegetables that are not
fussy and that need a minimal
amount of maintenance to
grow. Avoid planting items that
spread easily, need a lot of
trimming or attract pests.

How to Design a Low-

Maintenance Garden

Treeland Nursery

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Some of
| my favorite| plants
ABOUT include:

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Magnolias. These plants, shown here, are versatile, easy to care for and very
disease-resistant. When you’re planting magnolias, it is important to improve the
soil quality so that in summer, water can go straight to the plants’ roots.

Banksias. These stunning plants are full of color and are easy to maintain.
Flowers will bloom throughout the year with very little attention as long as the
plants are placed in well-draining soil in full sunlight.

Citrus trees. Being able to pick fruit from the garden can draw anyone out into
the sunshine, and it gets seniors active and provides homegrown nutrients. Care
for citrus trees is fairly minimal; it involves watering, mulching, fertilizing and
occasionally pruning to rid the tree of dead wood and branches.

Grevilleas. These beautiful plants do not get bothered by pests and are
incredibly easy to maintain. Grevilleas also attract beautiful birds.

Peter Schaad Design Studio

Plants to avoid:

Bamboo. Planting bamboo may seem like a good idea due to its resilience and
minimal care requirements, but it’s not ideal for a senior-friendly garden. It will
spread rapidly throughout the garden and can be extremely hard to eradicate.

Azaleas. These shrubs can create beautiful, vibrant flowers, but they are hard to
maintain and require special care to survive.

Belladonna. This plant is extremely toxic and should be kept away from any
place where a person or pet may accidentally ingest it.

Sushiiphoto

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Other Elements You May Like to Include

Vegetable garden. It is important for everyone, regardless of age, to maintain

good health, which is why I find having a spot to grow produce essential to any
garden. People love growing, picking and cooking their own fresh herbs and
vegetables.

Quiet spots. Include quiet places where visitors can think or read a book,
adding to the garden’s appeal.

Wildlife-friendly features. People of every age usually love wildlife. Adding

features to your garden that will attract birds and butterflies is a great idea.

Color. Plants with plenty of color lift the spirit and can inspire us to get moving.
They’re also great for detracting attention from less-than-lovely features in a
garden.

Arthur Lathouris Garden Designer

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