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There is an emerging literature on the design of therapeutic gardens for people with dementia (for example, Furness & Moriarty, 2006; Pollitt & Moriarty, 2006; Weatherby & Moriarty, 2006) and the benefits they bring to those who have enjoyed gardening in the past (Blake & Mitchell, 2016; Hewitt, Watts, Hussey, Power, & Williams, 2011). In addition to the time spent working or sitting in gardens, people with dementia may also enjoy spending time in other outdoor spaces, such as walking in the countryside (Mapes, Milton, Nicholls, & Williamson, 2016). The first two articles in this issue of Innovative Practice add to the evidence base for this topic. In the first, Hall, Mitchell, Webber, and Johnson (2018) describe a structured horticultural therapy programme for people attending a day care service in Canada. People participated in different ways, ranging from undertaking physical tasks such as digging or mowing the lawn to sitting and relaxing with others. The intervention was considered to meet a range of needs, including feelings of comfort, identity, occupation, inclusion and attachment. Hall et al. (2018) note their research was undertaken with people diagnosed with dementia fairly recently. In the second article, White et al. (2018) describe the impact of an initiative aimed at increasing the opportunities for nursing home residents to spend time outside in a renovated garden area. The authors found that exposure to nature was associated with an improvement in mood among the nursing home residents. Furthermore, the more time residents spent in the natural environment the greater the perceived benefits to them. Researchers are extremely conscious how much they rely on the goodwill and altruism of those people with dementia and family carers who agree to take part in research. The final article by Szabo, Whitlatch, Orsulic-Jeras, and Johnson (2018) discusses experiences in recruiting people into the Support, Health, Activities, Resources and Education (SHARE) Intervention programme, a counselling-based care planning intervention for people living with dementia and their family caregivers (Orsulic-Jeras, Whitlatch, Szabo, Shelton, & Johnson, 2016). The researchers recommend multi-pronged recruitment plans, while noting that some strategies – such as the use of local radio stations – were more successful than others, such as going to local community centres.