Aged Care Facility Landscape Design

Thoughtful aged care landscape design is a powerful way to help keep residents happy, engaged and active in a time where they may feel like they’re losing their independence.

That’s why the team at Insite EMLA take great pride in creating sustainable spaces which offer some form of familiarity for elderly residents and their visitors.

In our latest blog, we explore one of our latest landscape design projects ‘Harbour Quays’ at Biggera Waters on the Gold Coast.

This aged care facility offers both independent living and serviced rooms, and our brief was to create a relaxing subtropical or coastal aesthetic to complement the multi-storey residential buildings.

Landscape Gardening at Gold Coast Aged Care Facility

As always, the Insite EMLA team was strategic about which plants we selected for this project. Along with picking species that would thrive in the location, we set out to create a vibrant landscape with striking hues.

To achieve this, we purposely used a diverse range of plants with colourful foliage but would also be familiar to the older residents.

Another key consideration was making sure the natural environment could be enjoyed by every resident, regardless of whether they lived on the ground floor or second level.

Eumundi Quandong (Elaeocarpus Eumundi) were the perfect solution, offering height to ensure all residents felt connected to the landscape, but wouldn’t grow too broad and block out the sun or view.

This also meant that if a resident couldn’t leave their room or apartment, they could still enjoy the view and a slice of nature.

Plant Selection: Harbour Quays Aged Care Facility

In addition to the subtropical and coastal aesthetic brief, the landscape design needed to reflect the high-end residence.

Insite EMLA worked closely with the project manager to make our final plant selections which included a combination of established plants.

We picked:

Cordylines
Philodendrons
Palms
Ornamental Gingers – yellow and green
Frangipani
Fiddle Leaf
Tri-colour Jasmine
Poinciana
New Guinea Impatiens
Hydrangeas
Lomandra
Geraniums

Dementia-Friendly Gardens Gold Coast

As part of this project, we also created a vegetable garden with raised garden beds for veggies, flowers and fruit trees.

Not only can fresh produce be grown on site for consumption, but the garden provides a space for residents to potter around in, take ownership of, and enjoy a favourite pastime creating happy memories.

Gold Coast Aged Care Landscape Design

The team at Insite EMLA had one main council requirement to take into consideration with our design.

Stormwater on the property had to be captured and released slowly to prevent flooding into a nearby canal.

The outdoor areas also incorporated a wide boardwalk which crossed over one of two retention basins to help filter and slow stormwater runoff. So, our landscape design helped these basins blend seamlessly into the surroundings.

Why Choose Insite EMLA for your Aged Care Landscape Designs?

We always design landscapes that are low maintenance.
Once established, the gardens we design are self-sustainable. However, the more water you can apply the better vegetation will grow, and more lush they will appear.
We can use advanced plants for high impact, especially if you don’t want to wait for years before they start flowering.
We’re always available for site visits.