Gardening Ideas for Different Impairments

What if a visually impaired older adult could "see" the most vivid blooms again through a sense of touch? If a person's ability to pick up scents has decreased with age or illness, what can you plant to bring joy through hearing or sight? And for caregivers, how can gardening help relieve stress?

Alicia Green of Chicago Botanic Garden shows visitors how all this works at its interactive Buehler Enabling Garden, which uses universal design and a variety of plants and techniques to increase accessibility including plants with especially tactile qualities, herbs that reward a sense of smell and grasses, flowers and shrubs that attract birds. Green advises on success in your home garden. 

Next Avenue: What might a gardener or caregiver plant at home for someone who has sight problems?

Alicia Green: When one sense is impaired, the other senses are enhanced. People with visual impairments can experience the garden through plants that have scented sensory properties.

Herbs such as lemon thyme and basil — along with annual plants such as scented geraniums, violas, dianthus and sweet alyssum — are very fragrant. Perennials such as lavender and lilies, or shrubs such as lilacs will also stimulate the sense of smell. And chocolate cosmos are super sensory. Such a cool plant! It's an annual with a daisylike flower that smells like cocoa. You might find them at a premium garden center.

Let me mention scented geraniums. The scent is in the leaf. They've been bred to smell like mint, chocolate mint, lemon, apricot or rose. They're fairly easy to grow — not hardy outdoors but can be brought indoors after summer. They'll last the winter with enough light.

And plants and grasses that reward touch?

Grasses and succulents can be very tactile. Succulents aren't just cacti; they have fleshy leaves and are easy to care for and easy to find at garden centers. They don't need a lot of water or sun. Lamb's ear, a perennial, is another tactile plant. Spider plants and other common houseplants — including pothos, jade and sansaveria (mother-in-law's tongue) — have low light requirements and are easy to care for.

As for tactile grasses, we use fountain grasses, which come in green, burgundy/red and variegated (white/green); Carex, such as prairie fire, in summer and fall displays; and ponytail grass, which is very soft and looks like hair.

Hearing chirping birds is a wonderful indirect way to enjoy a garden as well. Planting echinacea or sunflowers will attract birds to eat the seeds. Sunflowers range from about 15 inches — good for containers — to 7 feet, which, of course, is better for planting in the ground. Shrubs with berries, such as juniper or winterberry, will attract birds as well.

What plants are good for those with a weakened sense of smell?

We talked about tactile plants. Also think about colorful flowers: Zinnias, cosmos, marigolds, petunias and coleus are all wonderful bedding plant choices. Perennials such as rudbeckia, salvias and roses are very colorful. Let's include herbs — they're easy and often pleasantly scented, such as lemon balm, lavender and basil — and some have a culinary use. You can grow these on a windowsill.

Coleus is sold at garden centers and bred for a million colors. It's an annual and not hardy outside, but you can grow it indoors. It needs more light than most, though — try a bright window.

To attract birds, besides echinacea and sunflowers, try various grasses. Fountain grass and switch grass are perennials. Millet grass, an annual, brings birds to eat its seeds in the fall.

What would you recommend for people who can no longer walk unassisted?

When making considerations for mobility issues and the garden, both paving and raising the garden off the ground are key. Keeping the garden close to the house is ideal. Have a smooth surface — no mulch, grass or gravel.

For the home gardener, a patio with groupings of containers would be ideal for someone with mobility issues. Raised beds with accessible pathways are another option. Raising the garden off the ground enables a wheelchair user to enjoy the garden. Creating a garden with containers enables someone who may have trouble walking to sit next to and enjoy the garden.

You can buy raised beds to place on tables, or group containers at a comfortable height, or use windowboxes or hayracks.

What plants are good for use in raised beds and hanging baskets?

You want plants that don't get too tall — 18 to 24 inches max. At the garden, we use a mixture of grasses, annuals and herbs that grow together to form a harmonious display that is beautiful yet manageable. In most garden centers, plants have tags to show how much sun a plant needs and how tall it grows. 

Use trailing or mounding plants in hanging baskets and avoid plants that grow tall and upright. Examples are trailing begonias, tropical maidenhair ferns, mini petunias, blue lobelia and pansies.

What has working with veterans taught your experts about reducing stress through plants, which might then be of use to caregivers?

Spending time in nature reduces stress because most people find it relaxing. There are qualities about gardens and natural areas that are softly stimulating and innately interesting to most people. In gardens and nature, we tend to take in the stimuli easily, thus giving our nervous system a break. Our bodies produce less cortisol, our heart rate decreases and we relax.

Gardens that are rich with plants, trees and wildlife have the best results. Minimizing noises from traffic and urban sounds is ideal. The stress relief response to nature is very subjective, so people should engage with what they find relaxing and fun. Some people love to grow food, while others like to prune roses or walk in the woods. It is a personal experience; the common bond is nature and plant-rich environments.  

If people under stress are able to take a moment to slow down, turn their thoughts elsewhere, that's when healing can happen. Working with plants takes your mind off things, which can be therapeutic. Everyone can use that, don't you think?