"I've always lived in a place with gardens": Residents' homemaking experiences in Australian aged-care gardens

Health Place. 2020 Jan:61:102259. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102259. Epub 2019 Dec 12.

Abstract

Gardens play a vital role in homemaking for many older people living in aged-care facilities. A garden is where residents can assert ownership, agency, and recall significant memories, especially after relocation in later life. This research addresses a gap in literature about aged-care gardens by expanding notions of therapeutic benefits. It adopts a phenomenological framework and applies unstructured interviews, Go-Along videorecording and digital storytelling for data collection. Findings suggest residents are not merely passive users of gardens, they are active creators, shaping their outdoor environment through gardening and creating meanings in their local landscape that contribute to their experience of being 'home'.

Keywords: Aged-care; Garden; Gardening; Home; Homemaking; Landscape.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Australia
  • Gardening*
  • Gardens*
  • Humans
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Mental Recall*
  • Residential Facilities*
  • Video Recording