Garden therapy: the benefits, for the mind and for the body, of gardening

Everyone knows that being in contact with nature is good for both the body and the spirit. Walking in a forest, visiting a park, or spending an afternoon on a beautiful lawn are all activities considered relaxing and useful for regaining one's balance and connecting with one's inner self. But while these remedies for the stresses of life may seem like simple "old wives' tales" with no therapeutic value, it is worth knowing that the well-being produced by contact with nature is scientifically proven, to the extent that it is used in many psychological therapies, especially in the form of Garden Therapy.

Also known as horticultural therapy, Garden Therapy is a treatment for many psychophysical ailments and can be used as genuine rehabilitation through nature for many disorders, from addiction treatment to therapy for people suffering from severe psychiatric disorders. But it is truly suitable for everyone, because caring for plants and flowers increases well-being from many perspectives and is also perfect for treating anxiety and stress.

1. The Origins of Horticultural Therapy
2. How Garden Therapy Works
3. The Benefits and Applications of Garden Therapy
4. Where to Begin

The Origins of Horticultural Therapy

Today, Garden Therapy is very widespread in the English-speaking world, where it is often used for many reasons. Its wide adoption in the United States led to the founding of an association, the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA), which sets the professional standards for practicing it.

However, contrary to what might seem natural to think, it is not a modern practice. The earliest accounts of the benefits of Garden Therapy date back as far as 500 BC, when the ancient Persians used gardens for therapeutic purposes. According to AHTA, ancient Egyptian physicians used to prescribe walks around a garden to patients suffering from mental illnesses. There are also accounts dating back to the Middle Ages, particularly in France in the early 1100s, where the positive health effects of contact with nature and tending a vegetable garden were observed in a hospice.

It was later Dr. Benjamin Rush who established its scientific validity in the early 1800s. Rush is considered the founder of American psychiatry, and he observed the benefits that working in a vegetable garden brought to people suffering from severe mental disorders. In 1812, he published a study on the best chances of recovery for patients who tended a vegetable garden, and in 1879, based on his studies, he opened the first hospital with a greenhouse, which was used for patient rehabilitation.

The greatest application of horticultural therapy was related to the post-World War I period. During those years, Garden Therapy was used to rehabilitate soldiers returning from war who suffered from incredible trauma, or to lift the spirits of severely wounded veterans. Since then, this type of practice has been used more and more frequently to treat numerous disorders, and today its benefits are also recognized in everyday life, because there is no better way to ward off stress and worries than by tending a garden.

How Garden Therapy Works

Garden Therapy actually goes far beyond simple gardening and encompasses a wide range of activities united by the same basic concept: rehabilitation through nature. In fact, it does not only involve the care of flowers, plants, and vegetables, but also includes environmental education programs. It is always the American Horticultural Therapy Association that establishes the guidelines for the proper practice of horticultural therapy. According to the Association, for an environment to be therapeutic, it must be designed to facilitate interaction with nature and its healing elements. This interaction can then be more active or more passive depending on the needs of the people involved, and there are several types of therapeutic gardens: sensory gardens, healing gardens, restorative gardens, enabling gardens, and habilitative gardens.

However, you do not need to suffer from serious physical or mental illnesses to need Garden Therapy. The benefits of tending a garden are useful to anyone, especially today, when daily life is becoming increasingly stressful, hectic, and full of thoughts. In fact, horticultural therapy is beneficial because the actions required to carry out this activity are slow, relaxing, and methodical: over time, they can become a ritual of serenity, during which you can set aside a few hours for yourself, and within your own space, you do not bring in anxiety and stress. It is scientifically proven that caring for plants is a highly effective concentration exercise, therefore capable of warding off negative thoughts for a few hours.

The Benefits and Applications of Garden Therapy

Garden Therapy, therefore, consists of a rehabilitative or therapeutic journey during which contact with nature improves the physical, psychological, and social conditions of the users. The therapy can help restore motor skills in people who have experienced deterioration following extreme events (accidents, strokes, etc.), it can teach independence, control, and social interaction to people suffering from disorders that tend to exclude them from society, and it can promote concentration and ward off negative thoughts and anxiety for people who cannot live their daily lives peacefully.

According to the most recent studies, Garden Therapy brings numerous physical and mental benefits to anyone who practices it. Contact with nature and the relaxing way of interacting with it improves breathing and is able to stabilize blood pressure and heart rate. It even lowers cortisol levels and improves motor skills. The need to deal with unexpected events stimulates problem-solving skills, and achieving results, such as seeing a lush vegetable garden grow thanks to your own efforts, significantly increases self-esteem. Furthermore, spending a few hours in a completely natural place, where the pace of work is slow and relaxing, allows the user to emerge feeling invigorated, much calmer, and less stressed. Because nature, with its pace, its scents, and the satisfaction it provides, inevitably relaxes.

Where to Begin

Not everyone has a garden or a large terrace where they can organize their own Garden Therapy. But, fortunately, you do not necessarily need such a large space to put it into practice, and almost everyone can carve out a little corner of happiness, even in the smallest homes.

First, you need to choose the type of garden you want to cultivate. In small homes and for those with small balconies, flowers are ideal for beautifying small areas of the home. For those who find more satisfaction in edible results, a vegetable garden is not necessarily required to grow a few plants either. The ideal, especially for balconies and small windows exposed to a lot of sun, are always basil and cherry tomato plants. These are plants that provide great satisfaction and whose fruits can be eaten in many ways.

What matters is not the size, but the time you dedicate to your garden. According to research, it is important to dedicate at least two hours a week to contact with nature, getting your hands in the soil, touching the roots, and enjoying the beauties that nature gives us. In this way, whatever space you have available, you carve out a little time dedicated exclusively to your serenity and mental health. Very little is needed to recover and live a more relaxed life thanks to daily contact with a small but lush little garden. Try it to believe it!