More At Home

• High and mighty: Tree houses give kids of all ages powerful perspective on life below
• Homegrown: Into every garden a few worms will creep, so get ready for them
• Spikey spirits: Bromeliads come in all colors, all sizes and will work for just a little water

Tell us about it

• What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
• Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
• Upload photos & videos
• More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

Share and Enjoy [?]

An extraordinary — and somewhat experimental — garden on the grounds of Naples Community Hospital receives its dedication next weekend.

Called the Garden of Hope and Courage, it is a memorial to the late Jan Emfield of Minneapolis, Minn., whose last wishes included the creation of a public space to provide others with the solace she had found in her own garden as she battled cancer.

Her husband, Bob Emfield, and family friends including Richard D’Amico spearheaded the effort to turn her vision into reality in Naples, their winter home.

The chosen site is 2½ acres at the corner of 8th Street and 2nd Avenue North, replacing the informal garden donated by Lavern Norris Gaynor to the hospital in the 1980s. An invitation-only dedication next Tuesday will mark its “opening,” albeit the staff and patients of NCH Health Care Systems are already strolling its walkways.

The Garden of Hope and Courage isn’t meant to be a public park, said JoAnn Smallwood, founder of the company that designed and landscaped the garden.

“There was a lot of struggle over that idea,” she said. The idea was to offer an oasis for patients, families and staff of the hospital. Yet, she added, the gates on Eighth Street North will be open.

The garden was her last major project before leaving her company for other ventures. It was, she added, an important one for her: Her own mother suffered with a form of lung cancer for 10 years.

An idea in early bloom

Healing gardens are still a relatively young concept and differ in detail according to the needs of the groups they serve.

“Some are very good, and others really have no medical basis for their approach. That aspect of moving therapeutic site design into a more scientific form is still in its infancy,” says Dr. Joanne Westphal, a landscape architect and physician.

Westphal, a faculty member of Michigan State University and a leader in the field of therapeutic gardens, came to Naples as a consultant for Smallwood Design Group/Smallwood Landscaping Inc.

But the basic principles, she and others say, are the same. People who are ill or under stress need a sense of security, orientation, balance, harmony, variety, physical comfort and the ability to make choices.

A large lake fills about half the area. According to Keith Whipple, senior landscape architect for Smallwood, a chief challenge of the design was “how to integrate water with private spaces and more gathering spaces.” In exchange for improving the drainage though grading and enlarging the lake, the Smallwood team was granted permission to install seawalls along parts of the edge, which increased the area available for landscaping.

Eight-foot wide concrete walkways in a restful sand color allow two wheelchairs to travel side by side with a comfortable turning radius. Seams are minimized so even people on crutches or trailing IV or oxygen gurneys, can travel easily.

The wide pathways, following the lake’s perimeter, give the garden a feeling of freedom and expansiveness.

Viewing and sitting areas were designed with three principles in mind: aesthetic interest, comfort and active physical therapy. It incorporates ample shade from structures and large trees. Plentiful benches offer reassurance to patients with limited strength; they also allow visitors to sit quietly and alone or more visibly.

Lighting and discreet security will make the garden accessible 24 hours a day. The Smallwood design allows viewing from windows and terraces of two nearby buildings without invading the privacy of people in the garden itself.

Patients, family and medical staff need relief from feelings of confinement and powerlessness, according to Westphal’s vision. Flowing lines, minimizing sharp angles and edges, and multiple entry and egress points answer that need.

“That was one of the things we learned while we were designing it,” said Smallwood. “That sharp edges can remind them of surgery — the knife.”

On tour

The formal entrance off 8th Street is anchored by a dramatic bronze sculpture created by local artist Kathy Spalding. The sculpture, a woman’s figure as the heart of a hibiscus flower, is framed by two large gate-like sculptures inspired by ostrich feathers.

The hibiscus was Jan Emfield’s favorite flower. It also symbolizes the beauty and transience of human life, because each glorious bloom of the hibiscus lasts only one day.

Behind the sculpture, a semicircular arbor, to be covered by bougainvillea, shades a seating area overlooking the lake. This formal entrance is directly opposite the garden’s other major structural element, a social pavilion in the southwest corner. The pavilion can host family groups, reunions, music and therapy sessions. The hope for it as a site of reunions between patients and their pets has been tabled for now, however.

On the right, the north side of the garden is bordered by the Schick Heart Center. A sitting area close to the south door will allow even the frailest patients the chance to enjoy the garden. Continuing around the corner brings the visitor close to the Telford Building, which forms the garden’s western wall.

A boardwalk over a section of the lake there avoids a frustrating dead end. Water can be important in relieving stress, and the boardwalk allows for intimate contact between visitor and lake, Smallwood emphasized.

Back on land, a huge, banyan-like ficus tree, with a children’s entrance under a low branch, shelters a play area. There are musical sculptures that sound quiet, tranquil rings; a small stage; a koi pond; a magic wishing well; and a large bronze turtle, the last also sculpted by Spalding.

Completing the circuit, with the lake on the left and 2nd Avenue North on the right, brings one past a landscaped area between the walkway and street. It is designated as a site for hands-on horticultural therapy if desired in the future.

The last corner shelters several contemplation areas. Large shade trees on either side give these areas privacy and enclosure. Wetland plants, including pickerel weed, yellow flag canna, arrowroot and duck potato, soften the transition from land to water.

A quantifiable therapy?

The formal entrance will be planted intensively, with seasonal changes; the remainder will be more understated. An array of greens, from bright chartreuse to near-black and in textures from delicate bamboos to the bold crinkles and veins of alocasias (elephant ears), defines its foliage. Color pops up in swaths or whimsical accents.

In consideration of patients suffering nausea, especially those undergoing chemotherapy, fragrance is muted. Plants new to the area such as the low-growing Red Bauhinia (Bauhinia galpini) and Blue Butterfly(Clerondendrum ugandense) are bound to attract attention.

The Garden of Hope and Courage could help to further answer the question of a biological relation between feelings of well-being and clinical recuperation. Smallwood hopes records will show a quantifiable relation between patient use of the garden and recovery rates.

“Studies have shown that a beautiful, natural place actually takes the mind off the stress. They’ve proven that this is important — it’s why we recover faster from surgery, and need less medication,” Smallwood said. “I’d love to see them do some sort of documentation on this.”

Healing garden information

“Healing Gardens,” by Molly Furgeson; Web site: www.sustland.umn.edu/design/healinggardens.html

“SULIS: Sustainable Urban Landscaping Information Series”; University of Minnesota, 1998-2003. A detailed report with lists of healing gardens in the U.S., and extensive bibliography. Web site: www.sustland.umn.edu

“Landscape Design is Just What the Doctor Ordered,” by Lauren Spiers, Lawn & Landscape magazine, April 18, 2005; Web site: www.asla.org/land/041805/westphal.html

“Sensory Gardens,” by Eva C. Worden and Kimberly A. Moore. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), document ENH981. March 24, 2003; reviewed June 2004. Web site: edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

Information about this garden

Amy Lane, Executive Director, Garden of Hope and Courage. amy@gardenofhopeandcourage.org; phone 434-6697. Smallwood Design Group/Smallwood Landscaping Inc.; phone 597-8137; Web site: www.smallwooddesign.com

Kathy Spalding, sculptor; Web site: www.kspalding.com