Maude's Garden is a therapeutic memory garden designed for people living with dementia and their caregivers. We are open to the public.
What is a therapeutic memory garden?
A therapeutic garden is a plant-filled, accessible environment purposefully designed to engage people with the healing and restorative elements of nature. A memory garden is a type of therapeutic garden that offers a protected botanical space for dementia-friendly programming and opportunities. Maude's Garden at the Memory Hub is Washington State's first public memory garden.
Memory gardens involve the participation of professionals who lead nature-based activities that encourage sensory exploration, social connection, and emotional well-being. Some of these professionals have specific training in a field called horticultural therapy. The horticultural therapists who work or have worked in Maude's Garden programs include Laura Rumpf, HTR, and Margaret 'Peach' Jack, HTR, who are Registered Horticultural Therapists and Dawn Robinson, HTP, who is a Horticultural Therapy Practitioner. All of these passionate individuals have also collaborated with Genevieve Wanucha, Maude's Garden project lead, to contribute to the original garden plan, design, or ongoing development of the garden.
About Maude's Garden
A project of the Memory and Brain Wellness Center, Maude's Garden opened March 2022 at the Memory Hub, located beside the Frye Art Museum. Named Maude's Garden in honor of our late community member and advocate Maude M. Ferry, this therapeutic memory garden is designed to enhance the lives of people living with dementia and their families, as well as provide a relaxing, restorative space for all. Maude's Garden is the site of the Garden Discovery Program offered by the MBWC and Seattle Parks and Recreation. We applied and built on the key features of therapeutic landscape design in our process of creating a garden for people living with memory loss and their loved ones, working with Stone Soup Gardens as the contractor for Maude's Garden. The garden's development and upkeep are ongoing and incorporate feedback from community members living with memory loss and caregivers.
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Covered Area (Pictured: Dawn Robinson and Peach Jack, HTR)
Therapeutic Horticulture / Nature-Based Activities
What is a Memory Garden?
Team Bios
Genevieve Wanucha is the project lead for Maude's Garden at the Memory Hub, as well as the Communications Specialist for the UW Memory and Brain Wellness Center and Memory Hub. She works to ensure that Maude's Garden provides a therapeutic space for the dementia community, in terms of the garden's design, health, programming, and community engagement. She leads the garden maintenance and ongoing development projects, with help from volunteers and Stone Soup Gardens. Additionally, Genevieve collaborates with Memory Hub team members to conceive and facilitate garden-related programs and workshops.
Marigrace Becker is UW Memory and Brain Wellness Center's Program Manager for Community Education and Impact and director of the new Memory Hub. She is passionate about building dementia-friendly communities and excited to see the way the Memory Hub will create new opportunities for collaboration and innovation.
Margaret (Peach) Jack, HTR, served as the Landscape Designer in the development of Maude's Garden. She is a registered Horticultural Therapist, in accordance with the American Horticultural Therapy Association guidelines. Peach has long worked to create safe spaces for learning and personal growth, often using classrooms and outdoor settings to offer retreats and special learning environments for children and adults. Peach now offers nature-based activities in several programs held at the Memory Hub.
Laura Rumpf, HTR, is the Healing Garden Consultant for the Memory Garden. She is a registered Horticultural Therapist and serves on the board of the American Horticultural Therapy Association. She has served many populations including those living with dementia and their care partners, veterans, and those with brain injury, developmental disabilities, and intellectual disabilities.
Upcoming Events
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Garden Discovery Program - Summer
Friday, July 18, 2025 at 10:30am
Join us in the garden at the Memory Hub. Discover changes through the season, engage in nature-based projects, and learn about this public "memory garden," created for people living with dementia and their families in this 3-part series (July 18, August 1, September 5).
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Garden Discovery Program - Summer
Friday, August 1, 2025 at 10:30am
Join us in the garden at the Memory Hub. Discover changes through the season, engage in nature-based projects, and learn about this public "memory garden," created for people living with dementia and their families in this 3-part series (July 18, August 1, September 5).
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Garden Discovery Program - Summer
Friday, September 5, 2025 at 10:30am
Join us in the garden at the Memory Hub. Discover changes through the season, engage in nature-based projects, and learn about this public "memory garden," created for people living with dementia and their families in this 3-part series (July 18, August 1, September 5).
