Therapeutic gardens don’t just take care of themselves.  This may seem like an understatement. There is a lot of planning and hard work that goes into the creation of such beautiful outdoor places.  But that doesn’t mean we can just walk away and let the garden take care of itself. Weeding, separating perennials, cutting back spent flowers, pruning branches, replacing mulch are just a few of the things that need to be done on regular basis. This can be best described as garden TLC (or maintenance).

Putting a maintenance program in place, when the garden is first installed, should be an essential part of every garden. Who will do the watering, weeding, dead heading the  flowers and replacing plants that have died? The garden is a living breathing thing that needs care and attention if it is going to delight the people who visit.

It is important that the garden has a person who is responsible for the care and maintenance of the garden. This could be a staff person, volunteer or other person concerned with its care. The person should understand how plants should be pruned, organic methods for pest control, selection of replacement plants, and other garden care tasks that ultimately affect the health and well-being of everyone who uses the garden.

Setting up an endowment fund to help pay for the care of the garden can help to insure that the garden continues to look good years to come. After all, we have created these therapeutic outdoor environments to help people heal and improve quality-of-life. Let’s make sure that the gardens look good for everyone involved.