Gardening tips

Welcome to Gardening tips

Article

Gardening is Good Therapy
Valerie Giles

Many of us garden just for the sheer joy of it. But did you know that all over the country the healing aspects of gardening are being used as therapy or as an adjunct to therapy?

Although this might sound like a new concept, garden therapy has been around for decades. For example, the Garden Therapy Program at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, and in regional hospitals in Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Rome, Thomasville and Savannah, has been helping people for over 40 years through gardening activities known as social and therapeutic horticulture.

So what exactly is social and therapeutic horticulture (or garden therapy)?�

According to the article �Your future starts here: practitioners determine the way ahead� from Growth Point (1999) volume 79, pages 4-5, horticultural therapy is the use of plants by a trained professional as a medium through which certain clinically defined goals may be met. ��Therapeutic horticulture is the process by which individuals may develop well-being using plans and horticulture. This is achieved by active or passive involvement.�

Although the physical benefits of garden therapy have not yet been fully realized through research, the overall benefits are almost overwhelming. For starters, gardening therapy programs result in increased elf-esteem and self-confidence for all participants.�

Social and therapeutic horticulture also develops social and work skills, literacy and numeric skills, an increased sense of general well-being and the opportunity for social interaction and the development of independence. In some instances it can also lead to employment or further training or education. Obviously different groups will achieve different results.

Groups recovering from major illness or injury, those with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and mental health problems, older people, offenders and those who misuse drugs or alcohol, can all benefit from the therapeutic aspects of gardening as presented through specific therapy related programs. In most cases, those that experience the biggest impact are vulnerable or socially excluded individuals or groups, including the ill, the elderly, and those kept in secure locations, such as hospitals or prisons.

One important benefit to using social and therapeutic horticulture is that traditional forms of communication aren�t always required. This is particularly important for stroke patients, car accident victims, those with cerebral palsy, aphasia or other illnesses or accidents that hinder verbal communication. Gardening activities lend themselves easily to communicative disabled individuals. This in turn builds teamwork, self-esteem and self-confidence, while encouraging social interaction.�

Another group that clearly benefits from social and therapeutic horticulture are those that misuse alcohol or substances and those in prison. Teaching horticulture not only becomes a life skill for these individuals, but also develops a wide range of additional benefits.

Social and therapeutic horticultures gives these individuals a chance to participate in a meaningful activity, which produces food, in addition to creating skills relating to responsibility, social skills and work ethic.�

The same is true for juvenile offenders. Gardening therapy, as vocational horticulture curriculum, can be a tool to improve social bonding in addition to developing improved attitudes about personal success and a new awareness of personal job preparedness.

The mental benefits don�t end there. Increased abilities in decision-making and self-control are common themes reported by staff in secure psychiatric hospitals. Reports of increased confidence, self-esteem and hope are also common in this environment.

Prison staff have also noticed that gardening therapy improves the social interaction of the inmates, in addition to improving mutual understanding between project staff and prisoners who shared outdoor conditions of work.�

It�s interesting that studies in both hospitals and prisons consistently list improving relationships between participants, integrating with the community, life skills and ownership as being some of the real benefits to participants.

But in addition to creating a myriad of emotional and social benefits, the health benefits of being outdoors, breathing in fresh air and doing physical work cannot be overlooked. In most studies, participants noted that fresh air, fitness and weight control where prime benefits that couldn�t be overlooked.�

Although unable to pin down a solid reason, studies have shown that human being posses an innate attraction to nature. What we do know, is that being outdoors creates feelings of appreciation, tranquility, spirituality and peace. So it would seem, that just being in a garden setting is in itself restorative. Active gardening only heightens those feelings.�

With so many positive benefits to gardening, isn�t it time you got outside and started tending to your garden? Next time you are kneeling in fresh dirt to pull weeds or plant a new variety of a vegetable or flower, think about the tranquility you feel while being outdoors in your garden. Let the act of gardening sooth and revitalize you. Soak up the positive benefits of tending to your own garden.

If you have someone in your life that could benefit from garden therapy, contact your local health unit to find out more about programs in your area. Not only will the enjoyment of gardening help bond you together, but it will also create numerous positive mental and physical benefits for both of you.

So get gardening today for both your physical and mental health. You�ll enjoy the experience so much that you�ll immediately thank yourself. Valerie Giles operates the Grow Your Own Garden Website which focuses on gardening products, flower and vegetable seeds, atio furniture and garden accessories. Everything ou need for the gardening season.http://www.grow-your-own-garden.com

Go to the new RSS page and renew your subscription.]]>

IMPORTANT: Bing News RSS feed has moved!

Sometimes a child's symptoms (say, Technicolor vomit or a cough like a barking seal) make the decision a no-brainer. Other times, not so much. To alleviate that early-A.M. angst, we consulted several top pediatricians to help you figure out when your child ...

Is My Child Too Sick for School?

"Get personal with your weather," Rushing implores. And, above all else, he encourages you to share your garden with a child — your own or someone else's. One fine line: "Slow Gardening has deep roots, because gardening has always been a ...

Planting a garden? What's your rush?

This week Flower Garden Park neighbor http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flower ... The focus of his distributions is child lung health, through prevention. Neighborhood spokespersons and education programs have become one of the most effective tools for ...

Neighbor Helping Children Breathe Easy

A Spring Garden Township Officer confronted Wilson along the 300 ... Employees at a local business, who witnessed the chase, took the baby inside the business to care for the child. The baby was later returned to her mother.

Theft Suspect Flees from Police; Leaves Behind Infant in Stroller in Spring Garden Township

In Laxton’s words: She did not bring up her child without acknowledging its sex ... baby and as soon as the weather got warm enough was frolicking around the garden with no clothes on anyway. So everyone in our village who knows us knows what sex ...

British mom says her child was raised ‘gender-rich’ not ‘genderless’

Around five children die every year in garden pond drownings. A spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: “We get to hear of cases in which, tragically, a child dies in a garden pond. ”Children under the age of six need to ...

Schoolboy Kyle, 8, hailed a hero after pulling his little sister from garden pond

Raising a special-needs child who at one time had up to 80 seizures in a day ... To that end, Deleste founded Gio’s Garden, a nonprofit respite care center for parents of special-needs children. It’s going to offer more than just “day care ...

Around Town: Gio’s Garden a place for special-needs kids, parents

To use gardening as an analogy, not all children are planted ... There is one thing all children have in common at birth: a capacity to learn. Every day, a child begins to develop and grow from infancy, childhood, adolescence, into adulthood.

Mentoring can improve child's life, prospects

"We are also very thankful to the crew from Garden City Helicopters ... The incident occurred about 12.20pm at a house in King St while the child was visiting family in town. It is believed the dog, a doberman-staffordshire bull terrier, wanted a lolly ...