“I cannot say exactly how nature exerts its calming and organizing effects on our brains, but I have seen in my patients the restorative and healing powers of nature and gardens, even for those who are deeply disabled neurologically. In many cases, gardens and nature are more powerful than any medication.”
Excerpt from Everything in Its Place, by Oliver Sacks, MD, Neurologist. Published posthumously in 2019 following his 2015 death.
Sometimes it’s called “therapeutic gardening,” “ecotherapy,” or “horticulture therapy.” It’s a simple low-cost activity for enhancing well-being by addressing the needs of the whole person – mind, body, and spirit. Growing evidence about the positive effects is now emerging.
But We Already Know This, Right?
In Native American and Asian cultures, ecotherapy has long been a practice. But more recently, it is recognized as a healing art in today’s Western world.
New York University Langone Health, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, established one of the earliest programs in the US in the mid-70’s. The “Aging and Dementia Horticulture Program” is only one of several Rusk Rehabilitation programs offered throughout this major healthcare system.
Supported by trained horticultural therapists, people living with dementia and their caregivers are provided appropriate hands-on activities.
Programs have been developed in healthcare systems and nursing homes across the country. On the West Coast, 
Legacy Health in the Portland area is regarded as a leader in therapeutic gardens.
Prescriptions for Gardening
Healthcare providers in some European countries are now writing prescriptions for both being in nature and gardening. Notably, the medical clinics writing prescriptions for this “pill alternative” are located in England and Scandinavia.
Benefits
The website of TheUrbanMonk.com recently posted an article by Lucy Schlessinger titled “How Nurturing Life Around You Nurtures Life Within You.” Her research shows these benefits for gardening: healthier heart and lower blood pressure; stress reduction; antidepressant effect on the brain; and stronger immune system.
All of these – and more – including the bounty of the garden.
My Grandmother – Gardening at Age 100 – My Ultimate Inspiration
The bounty of the garden would frequently end up on our table at the farm when I was growing up. It was always a treat when Grandpa’s car would pull into the circular drive with produce from Grandma’s garden.
She was my mother’s mother – the minister’s wife in a large congregation, mother of six children, a farm owner and manager during depression years. They frequently hosted visiting church workers and ministers, and occasionally, a visiting college president at their extended table.
On a number of occasions, Aunt Dorothy would prop me up at the table with the old Sears and Wards catalogues so that I could eat with the adults. The stories about their work in other countries inspired my interest in travel.
A life-long gardener, Grandma was still gardening at age 100. A life-long student, she read the Bible in its entirety every year – for the final 11 years of her life. She followed regional news broadcasts, church publications, and The Farmers Almanac.
She had just purchased a new pink dress for spring. Her seeds for her spring garden were in her drawer, ready for planting. At age 100, she appeared very fit, had remarkably strong legs and was – all-round – very well-balanced. She did not awaken from a Sunday afternoon nap, slipping away unceremoniously – as was her style. With a last name being “Good,” she had lived up to her name – and oh – so far beyond.
Modest and unassuming, she was given few accolades for her service to others. But I remember her as a truly exceptional woman and beloved grandma.
A Few Years Later – At the Ranch 
We continued Grandma’s gardening tradition at the ranch, but on a significantly different scale. The ranch “style” was mostly about container gardening – interior and exterior – always, in our great room, and seasonally, on the front porch. And at times, “Dad’s Garden” contained container gardens!
Our front yard was the new home for a young tree on Dad’s birthday every year. And for some time, both Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Max continued to gift us with produce from Grandma’s garden.
A Lift to the Spirit – A New Season of Growth
Every new expression from nature lifted our spirits. I personally experienced the delight of finding the first crocus pushing through the snow in the spring! Following 
my father’s death in 2005, the crocus was a startling reminder that the remaining ranchers – now just Mother and I – had made it through yet another winter together. The realization was poignant and deeply-experienced.
For the next six years, the crocus would continue to catch me by surprise. Startling, delightful, and profound, it was a reminder that life continues into a new season of growth.
Better Than A Pill
From that “lift” received from floral bouquets sent by siblings and delivered to our door with some frequency by the local florist – to the container gardens on the porch and in the garden – and the young trees which flowered in the spring – we welcomed every expression of nature’s beauty.
Nature’s beauty surrounded us in our setting – with our view of the woods directly to the south of us.
As the beloved Dr. Oliver Sacks, esteemed neurologist, stated in the (above) opening quote, “In many cases, gardens and nature are more powerful than any medication.”
Linking to 30 Ideas for Container Gardening
For inspiration to begin planning your spring planting, check out these 30 ideas at www.SouthernLiving.com.
References:
Agravante, Mariecor. “Doctors Are Prescribing Gardening to Improve Patients’ Health,” 10-01-2019. https://inhabitat.com/doctors-are-prescribing-gardening-to-improve-patients-health/
NYU Langone Health, “Aging and Dementia Horticultural Therapy,” accessed 02-26-2020. https://nyulangone.org/locations/rusk-rehabilitation/horticultural-therapy
Nosowitz, Dan. “Doctors Are Prescribing Plants for Better Mental Health,” 10-04-2019. https://www.realsimple.com/syndication/prescribing-plants
Sacks, Oliver, MD. Everything In Its Place: First Loves and Last Tales, Published 04-23-2019.
Schlessinger, Lucy. “How Nurturing Life Around You Nurtures Life Within You,” 02-24-2020 https://www.theurbanmonk.com/how-nurturing-life-around-you-nurtures-life-within-you/
Author: Susan Troyer
