A therapeutic garden or wellness garden is an outdoor garden space that has been specifically designed to meet the physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs of the people using the garden as well as their caregivers, family members and friends.[1]
Therapeutic gardens can be found in a variety of settings, including hospitals, skilled nursing homes, assisted living residences, continuing care retirement communities, out-patient cancer centers, hospice residences, and other related healthcare and residential environments. The focus of the gardens is primarily on incorporating plants and friendly wildlife into the space. The settings can be designed to include active uses such as raised planters for horticultural therapy activities or programmed for passive uses such as quiet private sitting areas next to a small pond with a trickling waterfall.
- ^ Horowitz, Sala (20 April 2012). "Therapeutic Gardens and Horticultural Therapy: Growing Roles in Health Care". Alternative and Complementary Therapies. 18 (2): 78–83. doi:10.1089/act.2012.18205.