Horticultural therapy can benefit all ages

What is the practice of horticultural therapy both now and historically over the years? The therapeutic benefits of the garden and natural environments have long been documented and practiced since ancient times. A resurgence of that practice is growing to aid people in dealing with life's daily challenges and the varied stress levels in our society.

Horticulture and garden therapy is all about being amongst the plant kingdom from flowers to trees to the wide world of outdoor settings and appreciating all that abounds within those natural plant settings.

This type of therapy is the practice of using horticulture to aid people in a healing practice by exposing them to the wide world of plants. When you graft those together you have the art of horticultural therapy.

It has been proven that a patient in a hospital bed with a view out the window seeing clouds, the blue sky or a tree will heal much faster than a patient without a view. Some hospitals and senior homes allow patients to go outside in a garden setting, if available, to see, smell and alert their physical senses.

When returning veterans came back to the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, this nature rehabilitation practice started and was accepted as one form of curing some major physiological trauma. The philosophy was to assist participants to learn new skills or regain those that were lost by being in nature and working in the outdoor settings of a garden.

In recent years, there has been a great up swing to utilize therapeutic gardens as part of a healing zone. Locally, there is Archie's Acres, where returning veterans are educated in the art of farming organic vegetables. This farm has educational programs that teach skills that are instrumental when the veterans return to their home towns. They can then set up a business using the skills they learned at Archie's.

Even with our youth, there is a great need to get them outdoors and just breathe fresh air and see the grandeur of the nature that can surround them daily. A recent book by Richard Louv called "Vitamin N", (N is for nature), talks about getting kids outside to allow their senses to be aware of what gardening is about and getting them to grow some of their own veggies at school, and that is a good thing.

Another great book is "Dirt is Good" and it states the advantages of good germs from nature for a child's developing immune system. Most parents think of germs in the dirt, but scientists now say these microbiome can have a major impact on our good health and the wellbeing of kids growing up.

The art of "Forest Bathing", practiced in Germany for years, brings people into a forest setting to relax and soak up the karma from the flora and fauna that exist in an outdoor setting. The Japanese call it Shinrin-Yoku and it is accepted as a form of reducing stress levels and finding inner peace within one's soul.

After the tragedy at the Las Vegas shooting last summer, the local community along with the landscape industry got together and constructed a Healing Garden for remembrance and reflections in this mini park. This shows the belief and affirmation that there are benefits in contact with a natural setting like this small park setting.

Take a stroll locally at the Los Jilqueros preserve to appreciate the 40 acre environment with all its beautiful settings and find a place of relaxation.

So, the simple acts of planting some flowers, watering your garden or just being outdoors can aid in your overall good health and perhaps lower your stress level. Give it a try and enjoy these simple pleasures along with a friend or two to realize the art of horticultural therapy.

As a certified tree arborist and landscape designer, I have believed this for years and I try to bring this connection of the natural world into people's landscapes for their enjoyment and living a life of appreciation for the great outdoors and gardening.

Just go outside today and cut a few stems of flowers and place them on your night stand and say "goodnight moon".

Roger Boddaert * Maker of Natural Gardens @ 760-728-4297.