Vad är en sinnesträdgård? : ansats till framtagande av de utmärkande egenskaperna hos fenomenet

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this paper is to find the true meaning to the Swedish word "sinnesträdgård" as a fenonomen. This paper concentrates on the Swedish use of the word, because the term has different definitions in other countries. Our choice was a phenomenological method after reading literature on, and in relevance with, the subject without finding an answer to the question. According to our six informants - a politician, a project manager, two landscape architects and scientists, and two occupational therapists, the concept has not yet been defined. The results show that a "sinnesträdgård" is complex and means several things, but the main purpose of the concept and place is to stimulate all senses. We have discussed how to distinguish the concepts "sinnesträdgård", design garden and health garden, from each other as they all stimulate the senses. In our results we found six common themes which our informants described as part of a "sinnesträdgård". These are: 1. Stimulation of senses 2. Target group 3. Frame 4. Shaping and design 5. Activity 6. Psychological effect The informants' view of the physical place is that it should provide security, permissibility and liberty of choice, which creates the frame for the garden. Furthermore, it must be designed according to the target group, as the target groups have different needs. As a minimum requirement, a "sinnesträdgård" must include areas for activities and for recovery. The stimulation that the place gives, will lead to a higher life quality for the people using the garden.