Kate Patterson can totally enjoy the rain in her garden - it's one of her favorite things to do.
He rarely goes out in his wheelchair in the rain because his electric wheelchair doesn't work anymore, so it's "a lot of fun" to enjoy his garden in the rain.
Outside the barn was an area—he called it the cabin—that was sealed so he could sit and watch the rain.
Patterson's Garden is one of 20 gardens around Auckland featured at the Auckland Garden Designfest.
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This is the first year the event includes 12 wheelchair accessible residential parks.
Patterson Gardens was designed by renowned landscape architect Xanthe White, who says being able to move around a room is very important.
"Instead of designing a garden to be barrier-free, the idea is to create the joy of movement to create space," says White.
Patterson and White began discussing Garden Vision in February 2021 when they moved into their home on Mount Eden.
Gardening work will start in December 2021 after the barrier-free internal conversion of the house is complete. The entire project, including the front and back gardens, was finished six weeks ago.
Patterson said he could tend the garden at his old home, but he wasn't one of them.
Now she can enjoy a cup of coffee in the garden instead of sitting on the terrace with her husband.
To create more movement and accessibility in the room, the lawn disappeared and a wooden deck with plants was built around the room.
Patterson wanted to do his own garden, so he had access to three large concrete planters.
Roads are very important to Patterson, so we put a lot of thought into what the best surface materials to use and how to make them.
Various materials, such as shavings and gravel, are used to test wheel durability and behavior in various environments.
In the end, they settled on a honeycomb coating with compacted white shavings, a combination that "worked really well," says White.
Designing an accessible garden, he said, cost no more than other gardens White designed.
"The garden does not require expensive materials," he said.
“Roads don't have to be expensive to be accessible, even compacted gravel is a very cheap way to build a road. If anything, it could be on the cheaper side."
White said he wanted Patterson to be fair in the experience and to enjoy running around the park.
"The idea that things are more universal is something I've been thinking about a lot more, not just inclusion or not, but equality of experience."
White said the design brings "a different kind of beauty to life", while keeping accessibility in mind.
"It's not a limitation, it's an extension of how space is understood," he said.
Patterson says having access to the rest of his home gives him more freedom as a wheelchair user.
“You have to spend a large part of your life being public about what is available and what is not.
"It's great to be able to walk around in my own house, which I know is a luxury," she said.
The Auckland Garden Designfest takes place from 26 to 27 November. Visit gardendesignfest.co.nz for more information.
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