Would you like a garden from Bloom?

The Dementia: Understand Together campaign is sponsoring a dementia friendly garden at Bloom, which takes place from 31st May – 4th June, 2018.

The HSE is now inviting applications from publicly-funded organisations/amenities and residential care centres (including section 38 and 39 services) to relocate the dementia friendly garden to their own outdoor space at the end of the Bloom festival. Your organisation must be able to maintain it in the medium to long term and ensure that the local community has the opportunity to visit and enjoy the garden.You’ll need to demonstrate you have €10,000 to cover the costs of relocation.

Click for APPLICATION FORM 

This document outlines the assessment criteria to be addressed by all applications.

Email applications to cairin.conway@hse.ie no later than 5pm on Friday 18 May. The successful applicant will be notified by Friday 25 May.

If you want more information, please contact Cairín Conway, National Dementia Campaign Manager, HSE, Tel 01 635 2067

The Bloom Dementia Friendly Garden is a collaboration between a landscape garden company (Newtown Saunders Ltd), a university research centre (TrinityHaus) and a dementia training organisation (Sonas apc).  Having been awarded a Silver Medal for their Bloom show garden in 2017, the team has returned this year with a new dementia garden centred on understanding, togetherness and connection.  This dynamic team has worked together for the past five years bringing dementia-friendly design to care centres nationwide. 

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BLOOM Dementia Friendly Garden

Dementia can bring difficulties with short-term memory, comprehension, orientation, spatial awareness, visual perception and mobility. These difficulties are gently accommodated in the ‘Bloom Dementia-Friendly Garden’. The clever use of layout, colour, planting and customised garden fittings creates an attractive, safe and therapeutic outdoor space. It is designed to tap into a person’s retained skills, abilities, interests and memories.

Plants from the person’s youth – here daisies, lupins, lavender and dianthus – trigger memories and facilitate reminiscence. Scented flowers, flowing water and birdsong stimulate the senses. Zoning and colours provide visual cues, helping with orientation and wayfinding. The accessible raised planter, mini glasshouse and tool shed, and vertical planter give easy access to gardening activities and engagement with nature. It was designed with one couple in mind, Pauline and Andrew. The stone wall and wild flowers and grasses reminds Pauline of her childhood spent on a farm and the water feature reminds Andrew of the stream that ran near his childhood home.

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