Spring and Horticultural Therapy

It's spring!

It might still be rather chilly at night and, yes, there's a forecast of snow for later this week, but there's no doubt that here in Worcester the land is reawakening after winter dormancy. Do you see buds on the trees? Flower bulbs sending up green leaves? Crocuses and forsythia bushes blooming? Amid the COVID-19 crisis these signs of spring give us hope.

Have you ever heard of Horticultural Therapy? This is a medical discipline where a person engages in gardening and plant-centered activities facilitated by a trained therapist. The goal is to reduce stress, treat depression, increase cheer, and improve the quality of life of the patient.

Our word "paradise" comes from the Farsi word for "walled garden".

Horticultural Therapy is practiced in hospitals, senior centers, veterans' rehabilitation centers, corrections facilities, and mental health institutions. Some programs teach people how to become horticultural or agricultural professionals – careers within which they can receive these benefits full-time.

Does this sound like a New Age-y kind of thing to you? Therapy of this sort dates back to 500 BC – ancient Persians in Mesopotamia ("the land between the rivers") created soothing gardens that incorporated plants and flowing water. In ancient Egypt mentally ill patients were prescribed garden walks. Medieval monks planted gardens to soothe visitors and provide medicinal herbs.

And in modern times, gradual understanding of the value of the act of gardening helped to establish the first college degree in horticultural therapy at Michigan State University in the 1960s. Kansas State U. followed in 1972 with a dual degree in psychology and horticulture. And the first graduate level program was established a year later at Clemson University. Similar degree programs are available at colleges in Delaware, Rochester (NY), and Colorado.

As Nazareth College puts it, their program is based on "Flower Power"!


The American Horticultural Therapy Association AHTA has annual conferences and publishes a journal.


You can read more about the research into horticultural therapy at: https://www.ahta.org/research-info and specifically in this white paper on the use of horticultural therapy for elderly patients: Institutionalized Elderly H.T. Patients

We are lucky to have several places nearby where we can immerse ourselves in nature and refresh our spirits and become "grounded". Premier among them is Tower Hill Botanic Garden (see https://www.towerhillbg.org/).  Tower Hill is closed right now due to the coronavirus crisis, but check out its website for online resources.

Although the visitor centers and public restrooms at our State Parks are also closed for the duration, visitors can still walk the trails – with proper social distancing, of course –and enjoy some informal horticultural therapy.