Garden for the golden years

A couple's relationship improved after their home garden was completed. They spent more time with each other in the garden. -The Star/ANN

Thu, Oct 13, 2011
The Star/Asia News Network

After years of working and taking care of the family, they deserve to sit back and enjoy life.

In my years of designing gardens for clients, I have met fantastic people from all walks of life. They have helped me in one way or another in delivering beauty and pleasure. Along the way, I discovered the magic of Mother Nature.

One couple invited me for dinner at their home after the garden was completed. After dinner, the wife thanked me profusely and I was quite embarrassed. I told her the pleasure was mine and thank her for giving me the opportunity to design the garden for them.

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Empty Nest Syndrome

After their grown children left home, they experienced the Empty Nest Syndrome. Life became a routine. Her husband will come home late, takes his bath and have a quite dinner together. After dinner, he reads his newspaper or watches TV and then to bed.

After we finished doing up their garden, she said her relationship with her husband improved tremendously. He comes home earlier, sits in the garden for a while and asks her what's for dinner. After dinner, both of them will sit in their garden and chat till late at night.

They wanted to add more plants and asked me for advice before going to a nursery.

Your garden grows according to your family. When your children are younger, they need room to run, cycle or play. Minimum structure is required for these activities. When they are teenagers, they require an outdoor room for their friends to come over and chill out. When kids become adults they move out and now it's only just mom and dad.

Home garden helps couple find back romance Click on thumbnail to view

How do we design such a garden for them?

Courtship

Can it also be a place for mum and dad to rekindle that magic they once shared during courtship.

A garden designed for older folks should not concentrate solely on the aesthetics but instead, it should be able to perform various functions: a space to relax, enjoy nature and a focal point for them and their family members.

The physical and mental aspects of the elderly should be considered, for example, what are their favourite activities? Do they like to exercise, dance or practise yoga? Do they like gardening? Do they like to entertain? How many people guests? Are they mobile or immobile, as in a wheel chair? What is their budget?

When you are in your golden years, one longs for familiarity.

For homeowners who cherish their growing up years in the kampung, imagine having access to lush greenery right outside your home. Your own compact paradise of swaying trees, a pond with ornamental fishes, perhaps a gazebo where you can lay hand-woven mengkuang mats and remininsce about the good old days, especially, your childhood years, living in a kampung-like environment.

Basically, a place in the garden is for dad to sit comfortably, read the newspaper and relax. Mum would want a place to read a book, bring her friends over for tea and maybe potter around.

A herb or vegetable garden? Tending your garden can make you feel younger and happier. Gardeners eat greater quantities of fresh and organic vegetables than people without vegetable gardens.

Gardening is also a great past time. The benefits of gardening are linked to the physical nature of the activity, though the primary benefit of gardening seems to be through its positive effect on mental health which leads to positive thinking in all aspects of your life, including living longer.

For those, who live in a condo unit and have limited gardening space, potting tables can be placed on your balcony, kitchen, hallway or even bathroom areas and can be easily accessed even with a wheel chair.

When there's a will, there's a way.