Healing Landscapes

You may have noticed a sense of calmness or ease when spending time in a space surrounded by nature, it’s not just your imagination. Studies have found landscapes and gardens to have a healing impact emotionally, psychologically, and physiologically so it’s no surprise that they’ve implemented gardens in some hospitals and various other healthcare facilities around the globe.

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In 2018 the American Society of Landscape Architects held a meeting that addressed Garden Design in Healthcare Facilities. Creative minds came together to discuss healing garden projects, success stories, and effects of landscape design on people. Healthcare facility gardens are a rerising trend in the West, though their effects are widely used and adopted in the East, specifically China. Western medicine saw a significant drop in the integration of gardens in hospitals in the mid 20th century due to international contentions, and the West’s desire to keep international elements and influences away (Jiang).
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Years later, we are seeing a rise in the implementation of the healing gardens into different health facilities all over. In the ASLA meeting, a Delaware based healing garden project was discussed, Jiang addresses a Bay Area healing garden in his research, and Therapeutic Landscape Network provides an extensive list of existing gardens in health care facilities throughout the United States. After years of decline in the instances of gardens in health care, the benefit of the natural setting is once again being recognized and implemented.

Extensive research has shown a wide variety of benefits in the integration of nature and gardens in health care facilities. Natural landscape as been shown to help with stress, improve healing time, increase comfortability and calmness, and with the right design promote movement (Jiang, 2014). With all the clear benefits of incorporating nature into the hospitals and health care facilities, it may be time to consider how to put together your own zen garden.
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The BC Engineering Group is available to assist in the custom design of healing gardens and can walk you through the process of design development. As a leading civil engineering and landscape architecture firm, BC Engineering Group is here to answer any questions you may have. to learn more about our services reach out to us at (707) 542-4321. You can also find us on Facebook and LinkedIn. Stay up to date with Civil Engineering and Land Planning issues by subscribing to our blog.

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References

• Jiang, S. (2014, June). Therapeutic Landscapes and Healing Gardens: A review of Chinese literature in relation to the studies in western countries. Retrieved from ScienceDirect: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095263513000836
• Therapeutic Landscape Network. (n.d.). Gardens/Gardens in Healthcare and Related Facilities. Re-trieved from healinglandscapes.org: http://www.healinglandscapes.org/healthcare-gardens/