Amid the flowers and aesthetic greenery, this garden is paved with the surfaces and obstacles found in the real world. The garden’s landscape design includes sections of grass, gravel, brick, sand, rubber, bark mulch, asphalt and concrete so residents can gain confidence on various surfaces. One paved area is deliberately curved and graded, allowing residents to practice maneuvering their legs, walkers or wheelchairs along sloped concrete pavement and over concrete curbs.
“It’s wonderful to provide rehab therapy for someone who had a hip replacement or a stroke in a beautifully climate-controlled space with a smooth floor,” Joshua Jacobs says. “But where, outside of a facility or hospital, do you really see that? Everyone wants to go home eventually, so why not create a real-world environment that is supervised and safe, so therapists can help people practice on difficult surfaces and build their confidence?”
OTHER GARDEN HIGHLIGH