Commonly, older men and women visit the Garden on a regular basis. It is important for our elderly who may no longer be able to achieve their own garden to have a place where they can reminisce and enjoy the atmosphere.
The Garden provides a calm and pleasant area for visitors to walk. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) in an August 2012 “Vital Signs” article tells us that for 6 in 10 Americans walking is the most popular aerobic physical activity. These same adults reported walking for at least 10 minutes per week. According to the CDC, more people are walking but it depends on where they live, their health, and their age. Walking has increased among adults who are age 65 or older. People are more likely to walk and move about when it is safe and convenient for them to do so. Thus, maintaining areas such as the walkways in the Richmond Rose Garden is necessary to prevent people from falling or getting hurt during their visit to the Garden.
The Harvard medical school in a recent 2018 article on walking and its benefits gives the following insight:
Walking has it all. Simple and natural, it doesn’t require any instruction or skill. It can be a very modest form of exercise or it can demand enough skill and intensity to be an Olympic sport. You can walk alone for solitude or with friends for companionship. You can walk indoors on a treadmill or outside in the city or country, at home or away. You can get all the benefits of moderate exercise with a very low risk of injury. And to boot, walking is inexpensive. All things considered, Charles Dickens got it right: “Walk to be healthy, walk to be happy.”
Our Rose Garden provides such happiness to the many who visit it each and every day for free from 6AM to 11PM, and is a vital necessity for our community being more active and happier.
The Richmond Rose Garden not only has the benefit of walking its paths, but the roses also assist the visitors elevating their moods providing an added benefit. In behavioral research conducted at Rutgers University, results showed that flowers are a natural and healthful moderator of moods and have an immediate impact on happiness, long term positive effects on mood, and make for more intimate connections between individuals according to Gardening Gone Wild’s 13 Reasons Why Gardening is Good for Your Health. There really is a lot of truth to the adage “stop and smell the roses.”
