| Currently,the aging problem in China is gradually becoming more severe,with the prevalence of diseases among the elderly becoming commonplace.Therefore,attention should be paid to the health issues of the elderly.The acceptance of institutional elderly care by the elderly has become increasingly common,and future community and institutional elderly care may become the focus of the development of China’s elderly care models.Improving the landscape of nursing homes can help improve the physical and mental health of the elderly.Horticultural therapy is a therapeutic method that improves physical and mental health through plants and activities related to plants.Horticultural therapy is highly consistent with landscape design and highly compatible with the elderly,and is in line with social development.Therefore,introducing horticultural therapy into the landscape design of nursing homes is reasonable.Thus,the introduction of horticultural therapy into nursing home landscapes is of great significance for the health and wellness of the elderly.This article employs research methods such as literature review,case analysis,and field investigation to summarize the research progress of horticultural therapy on health,plant configuration,and activity design.Three landscape design cases based on the concept of horticultural therapy are analyzed.Three nursing home landscapes are investigated in person,and a questionnaire survey is conducted on the preferences and acceptance of horticultural therapy among the elderly.Based on the above research,design strategies for applying horticultural therapy in nursing home landscapes are proposed.Taking Jingzhou Golden Home Elderly Apartment as an example,the landscape planning and design of nursing home are carried out based on the concept of horticultural therapy.In case analysis,comparative analysis is conducted on garden plant configuration and horticultural activity design,using the Oregon Burn Center Garden,the Horticultural Therapy Garden at the Chinese Academy of Discipline Inspection and Supervision,and the Anhui Le Garden Retirement Home as examples.Research indicates that in horticultural therapy,herbaceous ornamental plants are mainly used for plant configuration,taking into account visual stimulation such as user preferences and color therapy functions;for olfactory stimulation,commonly used aromatic plants with healing effects are selected,and the number of species should not be too many;for tactile stimulation,plant materials and ground coverings are considered;and for auditory stimulation,the focus is on creating natural sounds.Horticultural activity design should take into account user conditions,architectural characteristics,regional features,therapeutic functions,and other factors.In a questionnaire survey,elderly people showed a positive attitude towards horticultural therapy and a preference for ornamental plants and flower arranging activities.In on-site investigations,three elderly care facilities were selected: Ziyang Social Welfare Institute’s old and new areas,and Jingzhou Golden Home Elderly Apartments.The analysis focused on the functional zoning and plant configurations.In terms of functional zoning,there were similar issues of single-function areas,fragmented spaces,and unreasonable designs.As for plant configurations,the dominant plant types were trees and shrubs,with few ornamental herbaceous plants.The selected plants were mainly ornamental flowering and foliage plants,with a higher proportion of flowering plants in spring and deciduous trees with colorful leaves in autumn.Common aromatic flowers were selected as fragrance plants,which were distributed in spring,autumn,and winter.Passive therapy based on garden landscape was the main form of horticultural therapy.Based on the above research,design strategies for applying horticultural therapy in the landscape of nursing homes are proposed.In theory,the five elements theory of traditional Chinese medicine and the concept of food and medicine sharing the same origin will be integrated.In terms of plant configuration,local colors of Jingzhou and cultural plants,spice plants,aromatic plants,and ornamental flowers in the Chu Ci will be considered.For horticultural activities,cultural customs related to plants such as Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival will be incorporated.Taking the landscape renovation of Jingzhou Golden Home Elderly Apartments as an example,in the overall planning,the entire space is connected into an "L" shape,forming a framework of one axis,three rings,and eight zones,linking the entire landscape of the nursing home.The concept of horticultural therapy is applied to design five gardens,including vegetable gardens and potted gardens,medicinal herb gardens,herb gardens,fruit orchards,and flower gardens.Different gardens will apply different horticultural therapy methods based on the needs of the elderly,site conditions,and functional properties,combined with traditional Chinese medicine health care and traditional culture.Detailed designs for plant configuration and horticultural activities in the horticultural therapy gardens will be developed.The consistency between the landscape of nursing homes and horticultural therapy,as well as the fit of horticultural therapy with elderly people,indicate that the introduction of horticultural therapy into nursing home landscapes is reasonable and necessary.This study proposes a design concept based on the concept of horticultural therapy,which incorporates multiple healing methods in parallel.The theory and practice of horticultural therapy are combined with the Five Elements theory of health preservation,the concept of food and medicine sharing the same source,regionally specific cultural plants,and plant-related activities,and apply it to landscape for nursing homes.The aim is to provide theoretical and practical guidance for horticultural therapy in nursing home landscape design. |
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