Healing Gardens

From CollabLandWiki

Josh Kary & Laura Zimmerman

St. Michael Hospital, Texarkana, Arkansas

“The importance of natural beauty and plants to a man’s mental health is inescapable as concrete jungle’s and industrial wastes encroach on our shrinking areas of natural beauty. The therapy of the green leaf is rapidly being lost.” - R.A. McCandliss

Benefits

Benefits of working with plants have been known for centuries. As early as 1798 benefits of gardening were discovered when patients were required to work in payment for the care they received. The wealthy patients didn’t have to work and the doctors noticed that the patients who had to work recovered more quickly. Gardens are now common in psychiatric, special education, and mental/physical rehabilitation centers. Research, from Virginia Tech University, shows that a view of trees may reduce the recovery time in the hospital after surgery by almost a full day. A garden has benefits of many levels. Some benefits include stress relief, emotional benefits, socialization, self-esteem, and self- actualization. Horticultural therapy brings the individual closer to the mystery of growth and development. It also brings residents closer together with other people. Gardens invite socialization. It’s a safe environment where people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities can come together. Coincidentally, many nursing home residents already possess gardening knowledge and newcomers often become active members. Residents also have a high degree of physical limitation and lack of motivation. Also in a research study conducted at Kansas State University it showed that involvement with horticulture activites either maintain or increased the life satisfation of residents. The challenge is to adapt gardening activities to the resident’s abilities and motivate participation. Horticulture programs can be introduced that provide opportunities for physical activity, manual dexterity, and social interaction. Gardening fosters a sense of community. By deciding what flowers to plant, where to sit, where to go, and what to do, residents can make small decisions that help boost self-esteem, make residents feel confident, independent, and happy.

Components

Healing Gardens should include:

Visibility/Signage, Sense of Security/Enclosure, Physical Comfort, Views, Social/Private Spaces, Waste/Vegetation/Paths

Indoor/Outdoor

Indoor planting can include dish gardens (collection of plants such as succulents or cactus are grown in a shallow, open, container), herb gardens (can be used for cooking, teas, aromatic crafts), or terrariums (collection of shade plants in their own protected environment). These are all ways to bring the outdoors into individual rooms.

Wheel Chair Diagram

Outdoor planting can be in containers or in beds. Outdoor containers should be accessible, aesthetically pleasing, durable, and stable. Raised beds bring soil to an accessible level and can contain a large volume of plants. Bed width should be a maximum of 5 feet if it is accessible from all sides, or 2.5 feet if used from only one side. Raised bed height should be 24 inches for someone seated in a chair next to the bed, to 30 inches or higher for the standing gardener who has difficulty bending downward. Beds can be planted with annuals, perennials, or vegetables.

Contrasting colors of the Petals and Foliage

Plant Choices

When choosing plants to be planted keep in mind that you would want something that is visually pleasing. Bright colors in a nice arrangment can seem to brighten up a day. Also contrasting colors. Some plants do this on their own with the color of the flower or fruit and the foliage of the plant itself.