Old age comes with problems like loss of vision and difficulty in movement, making it hard for seniors to move freely in outdoor areas. However, old age should not hinder your elderly from enjoying a beautiful evening on the outdoor patio or watching their grandchildren play in the yard. Designing a senior-friendly landscape can help you achieve that.
Here’s how you can build a senior-friendly landscape in your home.
Put safety first
One of the significant problems seniors face is immobility and vision impairment, which increases the chances of a fall. So you need to ensure that your landscape takes care of all significant factors that can lead to falls. Here’s what you can do to make your landscape safer.
- Make sure your landscape comprises flat surfaces as much as possible. Avoid stairs and sloping designs wherever you can.
- Use nonskid materials for walkways and pathways to reduce the risk of slips and falls.
- Make the walkways and pathways easy to navigate and wide enough for two or more people to move freely.
- Use a material that allows walkers and wheelchairs to be pushed easily on walkways.
- Add ample lighting to your landscape to ensure that seniors don’t have trouble walking at night.
Don’t overlook comfort
Another thing that the elderly find difficult to handle is too much strenuous activity. So you need to design your landscape such that the elderly can rest whenever they want. Here are some tips to make that happen.
- Ensure that the garden has enough shade so that anyone can protect themselves from heatstroke during summers.
- Add multiple seating options all over your landscape so that the elderly can sit whenever they feel the need to. You can turn these sitting areas into picturesque pieces that enhance the beauty of your landscape.
- It is best to choose chairs with backseats rather than benches or stools as they are more comfortable. However, you can add a few other seating arrangements as well.
- Seniors also get dehydrated quickly, so ensure that they have access to water easily whenever they are outdoors.
Invest in low-maintenance plants
Another step to make your garden and landscape senior-friendly is to invest in low maintenance plants and easy-to-use gardening tools. Some plants you can invest in are magnolias, bamboo, belladonna, citrus trees, and banksias. These plants are easy to maintain and also add vibrant colours and beauty to your landscape.
Take help from professionals
There are a lot of things you can do to make your landscape senior-friendly. However, it will require a lot of planning and time. Additionally, there is always a chance of things going wrong. That’s why you should take help from professional landscaping designers like Marshall’s Tree Service and Landscaping LLC to design your landscape as per your needs and requirements.
About Marshall Tree Service and Landscaping
Marshall’s Tree Services should be your one-stop destination if you are looking for tree care and landscaping services in the South Florida region. Our services include tree and stump removal, pruning, installation, landscaping, and pest control services. You can call (754) 235-1926 or (786) 738-4886 to schedule a free review or to learn more about our tree trimming and landscaping services. To learn more about landscape design services in Broward County, you can also reach us via email at melchionnoj@yahoo.com or fill out our contact form to get a call back from us.
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