Gardens for Everybody: Wheelchair Accessible Garden Designs

People who use wheelchairs are often more restricted by ill-thought out environments than they are by any disability. Using a wheelchair need not inhibit a person’s access to a garden and all the benefits of gardening, provided that wheelchair accessibility has been incorporated into the garden’s design. More and more disabled gardeners are taking to their gardens. In this blog, we will be considering what to take into account when designing a wheelchair accessible garden.

The Benefits of Gardening 

Gardening offers many benefits for both physical and mental health. Gardening is a pastime recommended to be prescribed by the NHS to patients. Gardening can help to combat loneliness, increase self-esteem and can even be considered a form of aerobic exercise. Here are some more benefits of gardening.

Designing a Wheelchair Accessible Garden 

When designing a garden that will accommodate a wheelchair user, there are many things to be considered. Here are a few features you should incorporate into the planning of the garden: 

• Dimensions of the garden – Wheelchair users are often unable to reach the heights and depths that others can reach. However, a garden can be designed to suit their needs. Make sure flower beds, plants, tools are within a safe and comfortable reach and don’t require a long reach to work on. 
  
• Surfaces and paths – Make sure that all paths and access ramps are smooth for constant use and are of a suitable width for the wheelchairs that will use them. Paved surfaces are much more suited to wheelchairs than grass lawns and wooden paths.
  
• Access to and from the garden – Wheelchair ramps are essential to allow safe and easy access between the house and garden for the wheelchair user. The wheelchair ramp must be safe for constant use. 

How We Can Help You 

Having been in the landscaping industry for over 30 years, we are highly qualified when it comes to working within garden spaces. Our work has seen us transform countless gardens and we are highly qualified when it comes to bespoke paving. Paving is such a big priority to us, that we created our five-step paving process which allows us to provide the same quality paving for all our customers. 

Interested in creating a wheelchair accessible garden? We can help, call us on 01603 360548 or email us on enquiries@knightslandscaping.co.uk. 

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