'The Belong Garden – A Sense of Place'
The original show garden was created by designer, Carolyn Hardern, and is based on research into the benefits of outdoor spaces for people with dementia, focusing on a sense of place, reminiscence, orientation and sensory enjoyment. During the planning stage of The Belong Garden, Carolyn consulted the people already living in Belong villages, asking them about features they would like to see in their own gardens.
It is designed in two sections - a sensory and a 'working area', divided by a memory wall of local archive photos to evoke memories of times gone by. It also features a figure-of-eight pathway, which is designed to eliminate dead ends that can lead to stress and confusion, and an orchard and raised vegetable beds, to offer opportunities for the sense of purpose that gardening provides.