How to Create a Dementia Sensory Garden

A dementia sensory garden is an outdoor space that stimulates the senses. It is created to support the wellbeing of people living with dementia by offering a safe, calm place to experience nature, encourage movement, and reduce anxiety. Sensory gardens use colour, scent, sound, touch and taste to spark memories, comfort, and promote engagement.

People with dementia often feel anxious or confused. Simple places to sit, safe paths to walk, and familiar sights, sounds and smells can provide reassurance. Each element of a sensory garden should invite gentle exploration and give opportunities for restful enjoyment.

Planning Your Dementia Sensory Garden

Think carefully before starting. Each person’s needs, abilities, and preferences are different. You should speak with the individuals who will use the garden, as well as their families or carers. Consider physical mobility, memory stages, allergies, and risk of falls.

Location is very important. Pick a place that is easy to reach from indoors, secure, and not too open. Sunshine, shelter from wind, and some shade all bring comfort throughout the year. Try to include views of things that change with the seasons—flowers, trees losing leaves, birds, or water.

When planning, make a simple map. Mark paths, seating, garden beds, trees, and any features like water, bird table, or shed.

Safe and Accessible Design

Safety comes first. Smooth, level paths reduce risk of falls. Avoid steps, loose stones, steep slopes and slippery surfaces. Wide, winding paths help people who use wheelchairs or walking frames. Gates and fencing can prevent wandering.

Raised beds allow easy gardening without bending heavily. Edges on beds can serve as seating for rest. Keep sharp objects, toxic plants, or garden chemicals out of reach, and check all equipment is safe to use.

Accessibility tips:

• Wide paths, at least 1.2 metres across
• No sudden drop-offs or tight corners
• Handrails on both sides where needed
• Well-marked entry and exit points
• Lighting for early evening or cloudy days

Consider a subtle route that loops back to the start, so no one feels trapped or lost. Use different textures underfoot—smooth paving, grass, timber— so the route is interesting but not confusing. Avoid busy patterns or confusing colour changes.

Choosing Sensory Plants

People with dementia may connect to memories through touch, scent or colour. Plants are the heart of a sensory garden and are chosen to stimulate the senses gently. Pick plants that are non-toxic and non-irritant.

Visual Stimulation

Bright, simple colours are easy to enjoy and may prompt memories. Big, bold flowers like sunflowers, roses, marigolds and pansies bring happiness. Silver-leaved plants, evergreens, and autumn colours provide contrast during dull months. Try grouping colours together rather than mixing too many.

Scented Plants

Scent can recall special times—lavender, rosemary, mint and sweet peas are distinctive British favourites. Jasmine, thyme, honeysuckle and scented pelargoniums are lovely in summer. Place some scented plants near paths or seats for people to touch and smell.

Plants for Touch

Soft, furry or oddly textured leaves give comfort and surprise. Lamb’s ear, salvias, sage, ferns, and ornamental grasses are examples. Include herbs like chives, lemon balm, or parsley for safe tasting too.

Safe Edible Plants

Cooking with or tasting food from the garden can awaken appetite or memories. Try strawberries, raspberries, lettuce, cherry tomatoes or snap peas. Do not include any poisonous berries, mushrooms, or plants with irritating sap.

Stimulating Sound

Water features, wind chimes, bird baths or feeders add gentle sound. The trickle of a fountain, birdsong, or rustling leaves calms and comforts. Choose easy-care features; for example, solar fountains or hanging chimes. Avoid loud, unpredictable noises that could startle.

Creating a Sense of Place

A sense of belonging is comforting. Use old-fashioned plant varieties, garden furniture or ornaments that feel familiar—an iron bench, a cottage bird table, or a wheelbarrow filled with pansies. Add plaques with phrases or photos to prompt recognition.

Ornamental touches that may help:

• A memorial bed for past loved ones
• A corner for growing favourite veg
• Colourful pots by doorways
• Paths lined with daisies or foxgloves

Some people may remember walks in the woods, seaside gardens, or allotments. Ask about special places from their past for inspiration.

Seating and Shelter

Comfortable, weatherproof seating areas allow for rest, chats, or watching the wildlife. Benches with arms are easier to use. Use chairs that do not tip easily.

Seats should have views of interesting plants, feeders or water, avoiding sharp sunlight or winds. Install light shelters, pergolas, or parasols for shade. Small summerhouses or gazebos offer escape from rain and sun.

Create restful corners with larger pots, scented herbs, or soft shrubs around seats. Stone slabs or wooden decking under benches keeps legs out of wet grass. Include a mix of privacy and openness—try seating in tucked-away spots and communal spaces.

Paths and Surfaces

All users should move freely and safely. Paths must be stable underfoot and made from non-slip materials. Stone paving, resin-bonded gravel or smooth decking are common choices. Avoid loose chippings that stick to shoes or can be swallowed.

Different zones of the garden can have different surfaces to mark changes. Grass, bark chips, or timber boards all feel different. This gives interest while helping people know where they are.

Surfaces to avoid:

• Slippery tiles or steep slopes
• Metal grilles or drainage covers exposed
• Black tarmac, which can confuse people with visual problems

Make sure that drains are clear so the surface does not get muddy or mossy.

Encouraging Activity and Social Interaction

Sensory gardens can gently prompt people to join in. Planting pots, picking fruit, or trained flowers to deadhead can be enjoyable for people of all abilities. Group planting beds mean you can organise group activities without pressure.

Other ways to encourage participation:

• Birdwatching with binoculars and chart
• Spotting different seasons’ flowers
• Naming scented herbs and tasting them
• Arranging flowers in simple vases
• Simple craft activities: painting stones, making wind spinners

Social gardening builds connection. Invite family, friends, or volunteers for sessions. Bring in memory boxes or musical instruments to use outdoors. A sensory garden is as much about people as about plants.

Keeping Safe Over Time

Safety does not stop with opening the garden. A named staff member or volunteer should check the space weekly. Look for trip hazards, broken furniture, overgrown paths or plants. Always have a first aid kit near the door.

Gardens must change with the seasons. Take away fallen leaves, trim shrubs, and clear snow in winter. Replace tired plants with new ones, and refresh pots often.

Staff should give gentle reminders where boundaries are, and offer support as people walk or garden. Signs with simple pictures or text can help, e.g., “To the kitchen”, “To the gate”.

Practical Tips for Longevity

Keep the garden manageable:

• Plant perennial flowers and herbs for less annual upkeep
• Group plants with the same watering needs
• Use mulches to keep weeds away
• Select shrubs that do not grow too large

Link with local garden centres and societies for tips or plant donations. Invite wildlife in with log piles, bee hotels, or butterfly-friendly flowers—but keep ponds very shallow or fenced for safety.

Community and Family Involvement

Invite people who use the garden, their friends and family to help plan, plant and enjoy the space. Ask for stories about favourite gardens, days out, or flowers. Volunteering gives families a sense of sharing and belonging.

Community ideas:

• Open days to show progress and share tea
• Garden memory book with photos and comments
• Inter-generational days for children and residents
• Art or music sessions outdoors

This helps keep the garden lively, meaningful and part of everyone’s daily life.

Common Problems and Simple Solutions

It is normal to meet some challenges. Falls can be avoided by checking surfaces. Lost keys or confusion can be prevented by clear signs, gentle fencing and good lighting. Allergic reactions are less likely if you label all plants, avoid known triggers, and clean tools after use.

Plants damaged by weather are best replaced in spring or autumn. Unwanted pests—the odd slug, wasp or cat—can be managed with safe traps, barriers or mild deterrents.

Resources and Support

Advice is available from:

• Dementia UK (www.dementiauk.org)
• The Alzheimer’s Society (www.alzheimers.org.uk)
• Royal Horticultural Society (www.rhs.org.uk)
• Local carers’ groups and garden centres

Books and online resources offer plan layouts, lists of suitable plants, and simple activities. Some charities offer grants or starter packs for community sensory gardens.

Final Thoughts

A dementia sensory garden offers joy, peace, and moments of connection. Each one is unique, reflecting the needs, history, and wishes of the people who use it. The best gardens mix safety, beauty, and activity in an outdoor space that feels welcoming and familiar every day. A small patch packed with favourite plants and a quiet corner to sit can mean the world to someone with dementia.

Building a dementia sensory garden does not take grand landscaping skills. Simple, thoughtful design, regular care, and listening to the people who use it bring the most lasting rewards. Engage often with those who benefit from the garden and let their needs shape how your sensory garden grows and changes.