Hi Hugs: Yes, at my mother's nursing home they had courtyards for each wing of the building. These courtyards were filled with lovely flower beds and trees, benches to sit on, table and chairs, swings with canopies, all sorts of places to sit and relax and look around. There were sunny places and shady places available. There were birdfeeders too. The really neat thing they all had was one or two large raised beds for plants which the residents could reach in wheelchairs or walkers. They could help plant in the spring, water and anything they wished to do to help. And the courtyards were safe as no one could just walk away, especially Alzheimers residents. I used to bring my dog (which they welcomed any time) into the courtyard and bring my mom there for a visit.
I was going to take a course in gardening, and found out the instructor is credentialized, to my surprise. "Recreational therapists" work in nursing homes, and apparently gardening has internships at some of the long term care "models of excellence", where master gardeners teach others to connect with the earth, and I guess, with each other
