The History Of Horticultural Therapy

The therapeutic benefits of peaceful garden environments have been understood since ancient times. This people –plant connection is seen in the ancient gardens of Egypt, Mesopotamia and China. Their layout reflects this desire to maintain contact with nature. In the 19th century, Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and considered to be the “Father of American Psychiatry,” reported that garden settings held curative effects for people with mental illness. In 1879, the first therapeutic greenhouse for the mentally ill was built in Philadelphia.

 Authors, such as Henry David Thoreau, wrote about the bonds between people and nature. Frederick Law Olmsted and generations of landscape architects have designed landscapes to enhance that connection and encourage participation in the landscape. Central Park is an example of an urban escape to nature for city dwellers.

 Rehabilitative care of hospitalized war veterans in the 1940s and 1950s greatly expanded the practice of Horticultural Therapy (HT)in veterans’ hospitals. In 2003, The Florida Chapter of the American Horticultural Therapy Association held their annual conference in the VA Hospital in Miami. The hospital has a full-time horticultural therapist who works with the different rehabilitative departments to include HT as a viable treatment modality.

 Early 1900s school gardens were popular as a way to develop character and an appreciation for nature. Some school curriculums now include Horticulture; many times, the students are considered at-risk children. Laurel Nokomis School has an extensive horticulture program for its students, including individual square foot plots for each student as well as a bird and butterfly garden on the grounds.

 Gardening programs have been developed in prisons where prisoners grow their own food as well as learn a trade they can utilize when released.

 In health centers, therapeutic gardens have offered relied for patients and their loved ones. They also provide a temporary respite for doctors and nurses from the rigors of their daily regimen. According to Dr. Roger Ulrich’s research, “people who were exposed to nature recovered from stress more quickly than others who weren’t; what’s more, the positive effects took hold within just a few minutes.”

 HT is now taught and practiced throughout the world in a rich diversity of settings and cultures. Botanical Gardens, such as Chicago’s, offer various HT programs in their enabling garden. Leu Gardens in Orlando has HT program year-round and they are always full. According to an article by Michael Waldholz in the Wall Street Journal, “Gardening or simply observing a lush landscape - -holds a powerful ability to promote measureable improvements in mental and even physical health.” Hospital s and assisted living facilities are starting out with small gardens and enlarging them into more elaborate healing gardens for use by patients, visitors, nurses and doctors. They are hiring horticultural therapists or encouraging their occupational, physical and activity directors to incorporate HT into their programs.

 According to Charles A. Lewis, author of Green Nature/Human Nature, the Meaning of Plants in Our lives, “The garden is a safe place, a benevolent setting where everyone is welcome. Plants are non-judgmental, non-threatening and non-discriminating. They respond to care, not to the strengths and weaknesses of the person providing it. It does not matter whether one is black or white, has been to kindergarten or college, is wealthy, healthy or ill…. What is important is that they receive the proper sunlight, soil, water and nutrients. Thus in a garden, one can take the first steps towards self-confidence.”

 In a garden, Hank Bruce so aptly put it, “We can plant the seeds of hope, cultivate beauty and harvest the joy of shard human existence.” He states, “Horticultural Therapy is a process utilizing plants and horticultural act ivies to improve the social, educational, psychological an d physical adjustment of persons, this nurturing the body, mind and spirit while improving their quality of life.”