The Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney

Full Bloom Garden Program

Promoting wellbeing and connecting people living with dementia, through the power of plants.

full bloom dementia program
Location

Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

Date

Term dates are negotiable

Price

$3,000 per 6-week program for up to 10 participants plus their carers

Duration

6 x 2-hour sessions

Contact

[email protected]

Send an email

Create moments of awe, wonder and curiosity while being immersed in nature.

Full Bloom is a six week nature-based program for people living with dementia.

Based at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, program activities are designed to enrich the mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing of people living with dementia through therapeutic horticulture, immersive walks among the Botanic Gardens' Living Collection, tours from volunteers and First nations educations, and nature-based creative activities. Each session also provides an opportunity for participants and their carers to connect with others, through a shared love of plants, gardening and time spent immersed in nature.

Program bookings are open to dementia care groups and groups include participants living with dementia, carers and appropriate numbers of supervising personnel. The maximum group size is 10 participants plus carers and care facility personnel.

  • flowers and colours close up
    Strolling through the Garden
  • landscapes activity close up
    Exploring plant shapes and textures
  • planting seeds
    Mixing soil and potting succulents
  • firstnations weaving class close up
    Learn how to weave with our First Nations educators
  • storytelling activity close up
    Take inspiration from nature

"By being immersed in nature, walking through our beautiful gardens, learning about plants and animals, doing nature art and much more, Full Bloom participants have increased their physical fitness, improved their mental health and wellbeing, improved their motivation, independence and autonomy as well as created enriched social connections with both other participants, their carers and loved ones."

Dr Sarah Brikke, Community Learning Lead, Botanic Gardens of Sydney

Bright yellow globular flowers, billy buttons

Just to say thanks to everyone who made the Botanic Gardens program possible. My mum Jeanette (84, with moderate dementia) loved walking in new places in the garden and exploring the sights, sounds and textures. She also responded (surprisingly) positively to being among others in a group setting, and smiled and interacted with others. The facilitator/teacher was fantastic, something genuinely for everyone, with no talking down to anyone! We still have the terrarium we made, taking pride of place on the kitchen table at home!

Caroline 

Why Botanic Gardens?

As a safe and accessible way of experiencing green spaces, botanic gardens provide the perfect opportunity to connect people living with dementia and their carers to nature in a meaningful way that meets their needs. 

6-week immersive program

Carefully curated and inspired by emergent research in therapeutic horticulture, each session is designed to build on the previous session. 

Over six weeks, our aim is to gradually increase physical fitness, provide diverse sensory experiences, build confidence in gardening activities and vitally, create space for enriching social connections for participants and carers. 

Autumn Season 2025

Week 1: Mindfulness in the garden

Experience the tranquillity of mindfulness in the serene setting of the botanic gardens. This program offers gentle, guided mindfulness activities that foster relaxation and connection with nature, enhancing well-being and mental clarity. 

Week 2: First Nations session

Co-delivered with our First Nations education team, today we’ll go on a walk through the Garden to learn about the incredible plants native to Sydney. This is an opportunity to spend the relaxing afternoon with our First Nations education team and work on fine motor skills.

Week 3: Green hands

This week we’ll be getting our hands dirty. We are going to be planting and harvesting in the Yellow Wood Garden. We will learn about what seeds are best to plant in Autumn and what plants are best to harvest in Autumn. Learn all about planting and harvesting in this special season!

Week 4: Sun prints

We’ll mark our session by working with sun prints to create a nature-inspired memento of our time spent together in the Gardens, and of the new connections we’ve forged together.

Week 5: Flowers and Colours

In the Gardens, we’re surrounded by flowers and colour! We’ll go on a stroll through our incredible Camellia collection, before ‘pressing’ a few different specimens to use in an art piece the following week.

Week 6: Mandala making and leaf rubbing

Join us for a hands-on a flower arrangement activity that encourages creativity and sensory engagement, providing a soothing and enriching experience amidst the beauty of nature.