ABOUT

Creating Accessible Landscapes

Our mission is to create beautiful and functional outdoor spaces that everyone can enjoy, regardless of physical ability. At Green Circle Garden, we understand the importance of accessible outdoor spaces for schools, senior living homes, hospitals, and other public areas. That's why we have designed the Green Circle Accessible Garden to make your outdoor space inclusive and safe for everyone from children to Seniors.

The Idea

During my time studying Product Design at University in 2011, our class was tasked with creating a leisure product for seniors over 60. It was during this project that I was inspired by my own grandmother, who at 98 years old, had recently moved to a nursing home. During one of my visits, she expressed how much she missed her garden - something that was no longer accessible to her due to the limited accessibility of the raised garden beds provided by the senior living home. This led me to search online for more ergonomic solutions for raised garden beds, but to my surprise, nothing was available. This sparked my idea to focus on designing a solution that would not only benefit nursing homes and senior living homes, but also schools and hospitals.

The Accessible Garden Concept

After conducting thorough research, I discovered a significant gap in the market for an improved solution to the current accessible raised garden beds. Utilizing computer-aided design (CAD), I created a concept for an ergonomic garden that effectively caters to wheelchair accessibility. The design prioritizes safety, durability, comfort, and functionality, resulting in an innovative raised garden bed suitable for children, adolescents, and seniors.

Product Development

The product development process of Green Circle Garden was born out of a need for an accessible garden bed that did not compromise on comfort or functionality. During my Masters in Product Innovation and Development in 2012, I developed a wooden wheelchair accessible garden. I soon realized that the wooden construction techniques used could not create a complex enough shape to maximize the "garden space" from the knees to chest area. This area was critical in determining the soil depth and had to be maximized. After experimenting with different designs and materials, I eventually came up with the Green Circle Garden, which uses a unique water ballast system to provide both safety and functionality in terms of growing potential while increasing soil depth. The garden bed is also ADA compliant, making any unused areas in Senior living homes, Schools and Hospitals more Inclusive. The product development of Green Circle Garden is a testament to the importance of continuous innovation and improvement in creating accessible and inclusive spaces.

Manufacturing

We had to alter our construction method to accommodate for a material that was longer lasting, flexible and thinner than wood. Our top priorities were impact resistance, stability, weather resistance, and most importantly design flexibility for comfortable access. We opted for a composite mold and began production in the UK back in 2013. Due to growing interest from the US, Canada, and Australia, we decided to ramp up production by using the HDPE Rotomoulding process.