Therapeutic Garden

The therapeutic garden at Woodbridge’s Legacy Memory Care Program was designed by Robert Hoover of HBLA, Inc. of Portsmouth, NH.  Mr. Hoover is a licensed landscape architect with over 25 years of experience in the field.  One of Mr. Hoover’s specialties is the design of therapeutic gardens for the memory impaired.  Mr. Hoover’s design takes into consideration all of the senses of the individual enjoying the garden as it attempts to bring heightened awareness to the garden’s elements to compensate for cognitive losses.

The garden which is enclosed and protected provides a safe environment where residents can spend time unattended while staff will have a clear view of every area of the garden from inside the building.  It includes a circular path with railings that guides the user to destinations along the path for sitting and observing the colors of the flowers, their fragrances, and the variety of plantings.  Also included are raised gardens and a potting area to facilitate the ease of planting, weeding and giving residents a hands-on tactile experience with the soil and the plantings.

This garden reflects the enduring belief of nature as a therapeutic and restorative medium.  The fundamental underpinning is to reinforce independence and to provide for freedom of self determination (choice) through the design of ones garden.  Specific therapies include horticultural therapy (working garden), physical exercise (looping walk system) including prosthetic support (handrails for independence and colored concrete for reduced glare) and nature in all its forms (large specimen stones, flowers, bright colors, including a traditional New England woodland theme).