Public Dementia Friendly Sensory Gardens

Read the de Fiddes review of the Public Dementia Friendly Sensory Gardens below!

Nestled at the centre of multiple apartment buildings, this is an open to the public Dementia Friendly Sensory Garden in Port Macquarie NSW. The garden is filled with high blooming flowers, sculptures, pick and sniff herbs, textures, pebbles, benches with sandpits and a bubbling brook. The park is designed to create an experience of a meandering journey and to stimulate memories. We love that this is a place for people with Dementia and their carers to go and spend some time together. Other visitors also seem to love it.

One gentleman commented “I love to take my shoes off and put my feet in the sand”. When asked “What about the pebbles?” He replied “Oh no, that reminds me of Scotland where I grew up. I like the Australian beach sand much better".

A visitor’s mother was diagnosed with dementia in 2010 and passed away in 2012. "She would have loved that people cared enough about people with dementia that they decided to build something like this that is so special. It would have also meant I could have taken Mum from the confines of where she was living 24/7 and spent time here."

With loneliness and boredom being such a prevailing challenge for those in aged care, we are very happy to see the rise of more spaces which offer alternatives for people and ways to get their loved one outside and into nature.

There is a second garden in the works, which is so exciting. We would love to see gardens like these made in small spaces and courtyards across Australia.  Councils need to get on board!
Watch more about the Dementia Friendly Sensory Garden below.
All images from The West Port Club. Designed by the incredible Sym Studio and built by BNJ Landscaping