EDUCATE ~ CONNECT ~ ENGAGE ~ NURTURE ~ REVITALIZIE ~ COLLABORATE ~ INSPIRE
|
MAHTN, Inc.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS
President Abby Jaroslow, HTR Vice Presidents NJ - OPEN NY - Anne Meore, LMSW, HTR PA - Patti Loughridge, HTA Secretary Barbara Denson Treasurer Bette Walters DIRECTORS Elections and Awards Mandy Swope-Joos, HTR Online Communications Gerrie Schmidt Programs Chair OPEN Membership Megan Fainsinger Public Relations Brenda Sullivan Members at Large John Kennedy Dee Young Newsletter Editor Pam Young, HTR; 
Be a part of MAHTN's success by investing in the future of horticultural therapy.
DONATE TO MAHTN!
|
President's Message
Greetings MAHTN members,
As the summer heat and humidity rise in the coming weeks, Mother Nature tells us – the gardeners – to slow down, step back, pour yourself a nice, tall glass of iced herbal tea (from your garden, of course), and take a moment to admire the results of your hard work. To that end, we hope you’ll join us on Saturday, August 19th when “MAHTN GOES TO CAMP”. That’s right, what better place to be on a lazy August day than summer camp? Our next Networking and Professional Development Meeting is being held at the Variety Club summer camp in Worcester, PA, where an informal garden club has grown into a wonderful therapeutic program for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities. This exciting gathering and site tour will be followed by a service project. MAHTN members will lend our seasoned hands to help the Variety Club with a garden related project of their choice. Thanks to Patti Loughridge (VP, PA) for finding this interesting program, and organizing a special, lazy summer event. Our trip to camp follows on the heels of our June program at Well Sweep Herb Farm in northwestern NJ. Early morning thunderstorms moved out giving way to lovely weather for our day at this historic property. Organizer, Megan Fainsinger, with help from Dee Young, paid meticulous attention to every detail of the day, making sure that our tour was led by the most entertaining and knowledgeable pair – owner, Grandpa Cy Hyde and his grandson, Patrick. Their respect and love for each other was matched by their informative and funny stories, creating a relaxing and educational day on the farm for those of us in attendance. Thanks to Brenda Sullivan, Mandy Joos and myself for presenting herbal HT activities. Thanks to the many other folks who brought drinks, lunch, supplies and awesome baked herbal sweets. Handouts on the HT activities and recipes are available by emailing us a request. As we look forward, the MAHTN calendar is busy as ever. Make note of the following dates and deadlines so you don’t lose track as the busy Fall harvest comes around. I’m proud to note that quite a few MAHTN members are presenting at the AHTA conference, scheduled for September 8th – 10th in Burlington, VT. Make sure to introduce yourself if you are at the conference. MAHTN’s Annual Conference, “HT and the Garden to Table Movement: Growing Food for Health, Wellness and Healing,” will be held on October 13th at Foulkeways Senior Living in Gwynedd, PA. Director of Food Service and BOD Member-at-Large, John Kennedy, along with MAHTN members and Foulkeways residents, are planning a fun and inspiring day. We’ll hear stimulating presentations about developing community based garden programs in unusual spaces and we’ll be served small plate dishes, food show style, with farmers, growers and professional chefs demonstrating and serving. Finally, it’s time for our Annual Awards of Excellence Nominations. Please read more about these initiatives and consider participating. There are two Awards for Excellence – one for an individual practitioner and the other, for programming. If you or someone you know is deserving of recognition in either of these areas please submit a nomination form by August 25th. It’s also time for nominations to the MAHTN Board of Directors. See article with a list of open positions and instructions for submitting nominations. Please reach out to any of our BOD members, if you’d like to be involved in planning our MAHTN events, with any questions or concerns you have about HT in the Mid-Atlantic Region or how MAHTN can better serve you. I look forward to seeing you soon. Best regards, Abby Jaroslow MAHTN President |
Letter from the Editor:Happy Summer!
My hope is that as you escape to the beach, set sail on the open seas, or curl into your Adirondack chair with mountain vistas this summer, that you take a moment to catch up on what's happening by enjoying this summer edition of MAHTNMatters. In this issue, MAHTN members traversed the rural back roads of Warren County NJ to tour the noted herb garden, nursery, and gift shop, at Well-Sweep Farms, the location of our June MAHTN meeting. Don't miss the recap of this event as recounted by MAHTN Board Member Brenda Sullivan. Our next event Food for Thought - MAHTN Goes to Camp! will take place on August 19, 2017. Please also mark your calendars for the MAHTN Annual Conference, Friday, October 13th, at Foulkeways Senior Living in Gwynedd, PA. The conference theme is “HT and the Garden to Table Movement: Growing Food for Health, Wellness and Healing”. You'll find up-to-the-minute details on the website conference page. We are calling for nominations for open positions for the MAHTN Board of Directors. If you would like to help promote your profession and would enjoy a more intimate involvement with a great group of people, then being a board member might be right for you! MAHTN is also looking for nominees for our Awards of Excellence which allows us to recognize and underscore the efforts of horticultural therapists and HT programs that consistently demonstrate outstanding achievement and success within the field. You'll find the nomination form here. Healing Power of our Herb Gardens is an encouraging article by Ann McCormick about connecting in the garden and includes a suggestions to keep in mind when creating a therapeutic space. A great summer gift idea for HT's or for your clients is the HT programming activity, Create Your Own Insect Repellent using all natural ingredients that you can harvest from the garden. Thanks to Lesley Fleming, HTR our contributor for the Practitioner’s Forum. This is the third article in a four-part series on the ‘Treatment Process’. This article focuses on the ‘Therapeutic Activities’ phase, which is an integral part of an effective HT treatment plan. Breathe Easy this summer takes a look at the top 8 varieties of plants that improve air quality. Consider this list when planning your next HT session. Dish gardens with these plants would improve the health and wellness of your clients. Now is the time to start thinking about planting for a late fall harvest. This article highlights a few good varieties and tips to get you Chillin' With Veggies on a hot summer day. Long ago, the Physic Garden at Pennsylvania Hospital was envisioned as a source of healing plants for physical health. Foxglove for heart medicine. Lamb’s ear for bandaging. Sneezeweed for colds. How Urban Greening Affects Our Health speaks to the history of the garden which was the nations first hospital, founded in 1751, If you have any suggestions for articles, would like to provide some feedback regarding MAHTNMatters or would like to contribute to a future edition please reach out to me. All the best to you and your HT endeavors this summer! Pam Young, HTR Grow with MAHTN & Join our Team!Please consider joining the board of your professional organization! If you would like to help promote your profession and would enjoy a more intimate involvement with a great group of people, being a board member might be right for you!
The following positions are available beginning November 2017 for a two year term of office: Vice President, PA (Currently serving Patti Loughridge ) Vice President, NJ (Currently vacant) Treasurer (Currently serving Bette Walters) Secretary (Currently serving Barbara Denson) Program Coordinator (Currently vacant) Another way to get a taste of what board membership feels like is to become a member-at-large. Interested members are appointed to these positions for a one-year term – 1 from each state. Experience is not necessary, but enthusiasm and interest are a must!! To learn more about a position you may be interested in, contact the currently serving officers or board members. To obtain a Nomination Form contact Mandy Swope Joos. Deadline for Nomination Forms is August 25th. 
Photo compliments of Bette Walters from the MAHTN Well-Sweep Farm event.
|
Come Grow with MAHTN
Membership in MAHTN provides member benefits for a full calendar year, from January through December. We are always looking for new members and you are welcome to join at any time of the year. Please share with your colleagues, classmates and friends the exciting things happening in 'your organization'. Your dues enable us to support MAHTN's mission of promoting the practice of horticultural therapy across the Mid-Atlantic region.
MAHTN would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to the following new and returning members of our organization. We look forward to seeing you at the next MAHTN event;
HT Programming Idea
|
MAHTN Meeting at Well-Sweep Herb Farm
Herb expert Patrick McDuffee, grandson of Cyrus and Louise Hyde, remarks on the large size of Rose geraniums and lemon verbenas when overwintered indoors - over 5' tall with trunks over 6" in diameter.
They are known for their extremely fragrant foliage
By Brenda Sullivan
A stormy morning gave way to blue skies in bucolic Warren County, New Jersey, for the June 24th MAHTN meeting at Well-Sweep Farm. Twenty-six attendees traversed the rural back roads of Warren County to tour the noted herb garden, nursery, and gift shop, followed by a picnic lunch and three hands-on Horticultural Therapy activities. Herbs are used widely to engage our HT populations, and Well-Sweep contains of the country’s largest and most unusual collections of perennials and herbs, numbering nearly 2,000 organically grown varieties.
The farm was founded in 1966 by Cyrus and Louise Hyde when they purchased a rundown farm intended for their use as a sustainable and organic family homestead. Leveraging their agriculture and gardening skills, their domestic passion became a business venture. More than fifty years later, they are shipping plants throughout the country, including varieties developed by Cyrus himself. His expertise has earned him numerous awards, including the Herb Society of America’s Nancy Putnam Howard Award for excellence in horticulture. His wife Louise, a former physical therapist, helps care for the gardens and has written a popular cookbook, Favorite Recipes from Well-Sweep, for sale in the gift shop. Additional family members also help run the business.
We began the day with coffee and nibbles at one of the farm’s rustic converted barns, now used as a meeting space, and soon met Cyrus out back, who began our tour amidst clucks and crows from rare breeds of poultry. He regaled us with herbal folklore, beginning with a plant many of us weed out, Plantain. Here at Well-Sweep it is an important herb, essential to Europeans, with over 20 remedies to its name, whether ingested or used topically. Cyrus remarked that Polish immigrants use it to heal insect bites and treat poison ivy. We considered how many “weeds” have similar medicinal purposes, but are unappreciated.
Grandson Patrick McDuffee, age 28, joined our group and as Cyrus told stories, Patrick, who studied biology, imparted extensive knowledge on virtually every plant in the gardens, from growing and harvesting to the plant’s proper herbal use. He was excited to join the family business during what he calls an “herbal renaissance,” a current movement energized by his generation to recognize forgotten herbs for curing maladies.
As we entered an Elizabethan knot garden, a style popular 400 years ago, we came upon a unique pear tree, grafted with 4 different types of pears. Next we saw Lemon Verbenas and Rose Geraniums, which also looked like trees, grown as standards that had been overwintered indoors for many years. They now stood over 5 feet tall, with trunks 6” in diameter! Along with adjacent hedges of Damask Rose, the foliage and flowers were used to flavor and decorate cakes, while Barberry flanked a corner, whose fruit is used for Russian pilaf. Other edibles like the Ponderosa Lemon tree, boasted lemons the size of grapefruits. Patrick uses just one to make a gallon of lemonade.
Plant after plant, we learned that each had a purpose, offering a medicinal cure, flavor, food or fragrance for human use. We encountered Lunaria, or Money Plant, whose seeds are used to treat multiple sclerosis, then Sweet Woodruff, used for May wine. According to Cyrus, the Germans liked to float strawberries in theirs when celebrating May Day in spring. Next was Evening Primrose, the oil of which is used for pain and stomach cramps.
There were Greek mountain teas with extremely high antiviral properties, Cuban oreganos and Indian spices that help with respiratory illnesses, Spilanthes or Tooth-ache plant, which numbed sore gums, and orange Turmerics and Gingers that reduced inflation and helped increase blood flow for wound healing. Patrick recommended orange, not common yellow Tumeric, for pain reduction from his old sports injuries. As we ventured toward an old outhouse, Patrick pointed out Lamb’s Ear flanking the path. It was used to reflect moonlight to show the way at night, back in the day before indoor plumbing.
We continued past the enormous man-made root cellar, numerous varieties of Basils, Lavenders, Marigolds, Lovage, and so many more plants. Lastly there was the nursery, which included carnivorous pitcher plants and unusual flowers and rare herbs used for their fragrant or medicinal foliage, not normally available at garden centers.
We could have continued for another hour and a half, but it was time for lunch, a picnic under a large shade tree with just the sound of chickens and roosters crowing, a soft breeze and a spontaneous guitar serenade by HT student Mason Vollmer. There was still free time to peruse the grounds and nursery, as well as the gift store, with dried herbs, books, garden supplies and fresh eggs for sale.
Our final activity featured hands-on projects utilizing herbs by MAHTN board members Mandy Swope Joos (herbal salad dressing), Abby Jaroslow (herbal tea), and Brenda Sullivan (herbal aromatherapy sugar scrub).
We thank MAHTN Board Member, Megan Fainsinger for arranging such an educational meeting at Well-Sweep, and for the board’s support in providing food and activities. Don’t miss our next meeting in August, it’s bound to be fabulous, too!
A stormy morning gave way to blue skies in bucolic Warren County, New Jersey, for the June 24th MAHTN meeting at Well-Sweep Farm. Twenty-six attendees traversed the rural back roads of Warren County to tour the noted herb garden, nursery, and gift shop, followed by a picnic lunch and three hands-on Horticultural Therapy activities. Herbs are used widely to engage our HT populations, and Well-Sweep contains of the country’s largest and most unusual collections of perennials and herbs, numbering nearly 2,000 organically grown varieties.
The farm was founded in 1966 by Cyrus and Louise Hyde when they purchased a rundown farm intended for their use as a sustainable and organic family homestead. Leveraging their agriculture and gardening skills, their domestic passion became a business venture. More than fifty years later, they are shipping plants throughout the country, including varieties developed by Cyrus himself. His expertise has earned him numerous awards, including the Herb Society of America’s Nancy Putnam Howard Award for excellence in horticulture. His wife Louise, a former physical therapist, helps care for the gardens and has written a popular cookbook, Favorite Recipes from Well-Sweep, for sale in the gift shop. Additional family members also help run the business.
We began the day with coffee and nibbles at one of the farm’s rustic converted barns, now used as a meeting space, and soon met Cyrus out back, who began our tour amidst clucks and crows from rare breeds of poultry. He regaled us with herbal folklore, beginning with a plant many of us weed out, Plantain. Here at Well-Sweep it is an important herb, essential to Europeans, with over 20 remedies to its name, whether ingested or used topically. Cyrus remarked that Polish immigrants use it to heal insect bites and treat poison ivy. We considered how many “weeds” have similar medicinal purposes, but are unappreciated.
Grandson Patrick McDuffee, age 28, joined our group and as Cyrus told stories, Patrick, who studied biology, imparted extensive knowledge on virtually every plant in the gardens, from growing and harvesting to the plant’s proper herbal use. He was excited to join the family business during what he calls an “herbal renaissance,” a current movement energized by his generation to recognize forgotten herbs for curing maladies.
As we entered an Elizabethan knot garden, a style popular 400 years ago, we came upon a unique pear tree, grafted with 4 different types of pears. Next we saw Lemon Verbenas and Rose Geraniums, which also looked like trees, grown as standards that had been overwintered indoors for many years. They now stood over 5 feet tall, with trunks 6” in diameter! Along with adjacent hedges of Damask Rose, the foliage and flowers were used to flavor and decorate cakes, while Barberry flanked a corner, whose fruit is used for Russian pilaf. Other edibles like the Ponderosa Lemon tree, boasted lemons the size of grapefruits. Patrick uses just one to make a gallon of lemonade.
Plant after plant, we learned that each had a purpose, offering a medicinal cure, flavor, food or fragrance for human use. We encountered Lunaria, or Money Plant, whose seeds are used to treat multiple sclerosis, then Sweet Woodruff, used for May wine. According to Cyrus, the Germans liked to float strawberries in theirs when celebrating May Day in spring. Next was Evening Primrose, the oil of which is used for pain and stomach cramps.
There were Greek mountain teas with extremely high antiviral properties, Cuban oreganos and Indian spices that help with respiratory illnesses, Spilanthes or Tooth-ache plant, which numbed sore gums, and orange Turmerics and Gingers that reduced inflation and helped increase blood flow for wound healing. Patrick recommended orange, not common yellow Tumeric, for pain reduction from his old sports injuries. As we ventured toward an old outhouse, Patrick pointed out Lamb’s Ear flanking the path. It was used to reflect moonlight to show the way at night, back in the day before indoor plumbing.
We continued past the enormous man-made root cellar, numerous varieties of Basils, Lavenders, Marigolds, Lovage, and so many more plants. Lastly there was the nursery, which included carnivorous pitcher plants and unusual flowers and rare herbs used for their fragrant or medicinal foliage, not normally available at garden centers.
We could have continued for another hour and a half, but it was time for lunch, a picnic under a large shade tree with just the sound of chickens and roosters crowing, a soft breeze and a spontaneous guitar serenade by HT student Mason Vollmer. There was still free time to peruse the grounds and nursery, as well as the gift store, with dried herbs, books, garden supplies and fresh eggs for sale.
Our final activity featured hands-on projects utilizing herbs by MAHTN board members Mandy Swope Joos (herbal salad dressing), Abby Jaroslow (herbal tea), and Brenda Sullivan (herbal aromatherapy sugar scrub).
We thank MAHTN Board Member, Megan Fainsinger for arranging such an educational meeting at Well-Sweep, and for the board’s support in providing food and activities. Don’t miss our next meeting in August, it’s bound to be fabulous, too!
Food for Thought - MAHTN Goes to Camp!
Our next MAHTN Meeting takes place Saturday, August 19th, 2017 from 11:00-3:15.
The Variety Club Camp enriches the lives of children and young adults with disabilities through social, educational, and vocational programs that nurture independence and self-confidence. Here's your chance to escape to 'HT camp' by joining MAHTN members and friends for a glorious day at the Variety Club Camp in Worcester, PA.
Here's what we'll be sharing that day...
Food for the Mind - Discover the history, mission, and farming program of the Variety Club Camp
Food for the Body - Feast on a delicious lunch featuring the produce of the Variety Club Camp
Food for the Soul - Be inspired by the campers as we hear their stories and tour the Variety Club farm.
Food for the Spirit - Give back to this wonderful program through service to the Variety Club Camp.
We encourage all participants to bring gloves and dress in cool clothes that you would wear (or change into) to garden,
as we will end our day with a special service project.
The Variety Club Camp Registration Fees:
2950 Potshop Road MAHTN Members - $10
Worcester, PA NON-MEMBERS - $15
HT STUDENTS - $5
CLICK HERE
For more information
or to register.
The Variety Club Camp enriches the lives of children and young adults with disabilities through social, educational, and vocational programs that nurture independence and self-confidence. Here's your chance to escape to 'HT camp' by joining MAHTN members and friends for a glorious day at the Variety Club Camp in Worcester, PA.
Here's what we'll be sharing that day...
Food for the Mind - Discover the history, mission, and farming program of the Variety Club Camp
Food for the Body - Feast on a delicious lunch featuring the produce of the Variety Club Camp
Food for the Soul - Be inspired by the campers as we hear their stories and tour the Variety Club farm.
Food for the Spirit - Give back to this wonderful program through service to the Variety Club Camp.
We encourage all participants to bring gloves and dress in cool clothes that you would wear (or change into) to garden,
as we will end our day with a special service project.
The Variety Club Camp Registration Fees:
2950 Potshop Road MAHTN Members - $10
Worcester, PA NON-MEMBERS - $15
HT STUDENTS - $5
CLICK HERE
For more information
or to register.
The Healing Power of Our Herb Gardens
Reprinted with permission of Ann McCormick
The other day I was having a hard time coping with the demands of being an adult. You’ve been there, I’m sure. It was one of those days that make us wish we could hide under the covers and never come out. So what did I do? That’s right – I went out to my herb garden.
For decades my herb garden has been my go-to solution for dealing with problems. Is my poor brain feeling sluggish and unable to think? Weeding the thyme will help with that. Am I ready to scream with frustration over a family matter? Deadheading my antique roses will help me blow off steam and prevent the commission of a felony when I go back inside.
There’s no doubt that time in the garden, whether working, walking, or just sitting, can have wonderful effects on the brain and the body. Physicians have recognized this effect for a very long time. Ancient Egyptian texts advise doctors to get patients outside walking in a garden as soon as possible. Roman villas were built around an open garden. Throughout the Medieval and Renaissance periods gardens were an integral part of castles, country homes, monasteries, and cathedrals.
In the 20th century the role of gardens as healing tools became more established. As medical professionals struggled with the after-effects of two world wars, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder was finally recognized as a valid disorder and not looked down on as “lack of moral fibre.” Doctors began using gardens as tools in the recovery of patients with wounds invisible to the eye.
The American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) has taken this a step further, training social workers, medical professionals, and horticulturists to use gardens as part of the healing process for physical and mental trauma. Licensed professionals “have a foundation of knowledge in plant science, human science, and horticultural therapy principles.” Here are some suggestions for creating a therapy garden:
Simplicity – a therapy garden needs to be calming, not demanding. People dealing with stress need space that expects little of them. Keep walkways, seating, and decorative elements simple.
Easy Walking – people recovering from physical trauma may need to use a cane, walker, or wheelchair. Make pathways wide and smooth for them. Avoid frequent changes in elevation, stairs, or uneven paving stones.
Focal Point – something as simple as a large tree, a statue, or a water feature can help define the environment of a healing garden and allow the mind to focus on something simple.
Seasonality – one of the most endearing aspects of a garden is how it changes from one season to the next. A garden designed for healing should reflect these shifts in nature. Grow something that blooms or turns interesting colors for each season.
Easily Maintained – most hospitals, nursing homes, and other care facilities have limited budgets for extras. If a therapy garden is to survive in these facilities it must be low-cost and easy-care.
Keep Safety in Mind – plants and materials in a therapy garden need to be safe around adults and children with poor motor skills. Avoid prickly or thorny plants. Use only non-poisonous plants, especially if the garden is for children.
Not that long ago, I witnessed the effects of garden therapy on children. I was writing an article about Vogel Alcove, a non-profit facility in the south Dallas area that provides free services for homeless children ages six months to 12 years old. Vogel Alcove has a therapeutic garden known as “The Backyard” that includes raised beds for growing vegetables and herbs. While there I watched as these at-risk children were encouraged to smell and touch lambs ears, spearmint, rosemary, and other herbs. I could clearly see how the boys and girls were thoroughly engaged in discovering nature in a leaf held in their hands. Herbs were working their magic on yet another generation of growing children.
You don’t need a degree to use your home herb garden as a tool for therapy and healing to those near you. Basic everyday thoughtfulness will do the trick nicely. Take a look at your garden and think about how others might enjoy it. Place seating in or near your garden bed. Invite friends to join you there when they visit. As you create your garden, think about those who have difficulty getting around. Make you pathways wide enough for a walker. Think of how hanging pots and raised beds can bring the garden closer to people with limited mobility.
Some people just can’t get outside into a garden. I have a dear friend confined to a bed in a nursing home. She can’t see my rose bushes but I can bring the roses to her. Take cut flowers and fragrant herbs to those most in need of horticultural therapy. They will smile and enjoy the sweet smell of your thoughtfulness long after you have gone home.
Are you part of a garden club or herb society? Consider sponsoring a healing garden in a hospital, nursing home, or hospice in your community. Even if you are limited to planting a group of containers on a patio, the lure of growing things will help those most in need of healing.
About the author: Ann McCormick, the Herb ‘n Cowgirl. and a life-long gardener, she has devoted her time since 1998 to writing and speaking about her favorite subject. Ann is a columnist for Herb Quarterly where she writes the ‘Herbalist Notebook’ and various herbal articles. She also writes feature articles for The Dallas Morning News. In between writing assignments, the Herb ‘n Cowgirl shares her love of herbs and her gardening techniques as a speaker and media guest.
The other day I was having a hard time coping with the demands of being an adult. You’ve been there, I’m sure. It was one of those days that make us wish we could hide under the covers and never come out. So what did I do? That’s right – I went out to my herb garden.
For decades my herb garden has been my go-to solution for dealing with problems. Is my poor brain feeling sluggish and unable to think? Weeding the thyme will help with that. Am I ready to scream with frustration over a family matter? Deadheading my antique roses will help me blow off steam and prevent the commission of a felony when I go back inside.
There’s no doubt that time in the garden, whether working, walking, or just sitting, can have wonderful effects on the brain and the body. Physicians have recognized this effect for a very long time. Ancient Egyptian texts advise doctors to get patients outside walking in a garden as soon as possible. Roman villas were built around an open garden. Throughout the Medieval and Renaissance periods gardens were an integral part of castles, country homes, monasteries, and cathedrals.
In the 20th century the role of gardens as healing tools became more established. As medical professionals struggled with the after-effects of two world wars, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder was finally recognized as a valid disorder and not looked down on as “lack of moral fibre.” Doctors began using gardens as tools in the recovery of patients with wounds invisible to the eye.
The American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) has taken this a step further, training social workers, medical professionals, and horticulturists to use gardens as part of the healing process for physical and mental trauma. Licensed professionals “have a foundation of knowledge in plant science, human science, and horticultural therapy principles.” Here are some suggestions for creating a therapy garden:
Simplicity – a therapy garden needs to be calming, not demanding. People dealing with stress need space that expects little of them. Keep walkways, seating, and decorative elements simple.
Easy Walking – people recovering from physical trauma may need to use a cane, walker, or wheelchair. Make pathways wide and smooth for them. Avoid frequent changes in elevation, stairs, or uneven paving stones.
Focal Point – something as simple as a large tree, a statue, or a water feature can help define the environment of a healing garden and allow the mind to focus on something simple.
Seasonality – one of the most endearing aspects of a garden is how it changes from one season to the next. A garden designed for healing should reflect these shifts in nature. Grow something that blooms or turns interesting colors for each season.
Easily Maintained – most hospitals, nursing homes, and other care facilities have limited budgets for extras. If a therapy garden is to survive in these facilities it must be low-cost and easy-care.
Keep Safety in Mind – plants and materials in a therapy garden need to be safe around adults and children with poor motor skills. Avoid prickly or thorny plants. Use only non-poisonous plants, especially if the garden is for children.
Not that long ago, I witnessed the effects of garden therapy on children. I was writing an article about Vogel Alcove, a non-profit facility in the south Dallas area that provides free services for homeless children ages six months to 12 years old. Vogel Alcove has a therapeutic garden known as “The Backyard” that includes raised beds for growing vegetables and herbs. While there I watched as these at-risk children were encouraged to smell and touch lambs ears, spearmint, rosemary, and other herbs. I could clearly see how the boys and girls were thoroughly engaged in discovering nature in a leaf held in their hands. Herbs were working their magic on yet another generation of growing children.
You don’t need a degree to use your home herb garden as a tool for therapy and healing to those near you. Basic everyday thoughtfulness will do the trick nicely. Take a look at your garden and think about how others might enjoy it. Place seating in or near your garden bed. Invite friends to join you there when they visit. As you create your garden, think about those who have difficulty getting around. Make you pathways wide enough for a walker. Think of how hanging pots and raised beds can bring the garden closer to people with limited mobility.
Some people just can’t get outside into a garden. I have a dear friend confined to a bed in a nursing home. She can’t see my rose bushes but I can bring the roses to her. Take cut flowers and fragrant herbs to those most in need of horticultural therapy. They will smile and enjoy the sweet smell of your thoughtfulness long after you have gone home.
Are you part of a garden club or herb society? Consider sponsoring a healing garden in a hospital, nursing home, or hospice in your community. Even if you are limited to planting a group of containers on a patio, the lure of growing things will help those most in need of healing.
About the author: Ann McCormick, the Herb ‘n Cowgirl. and a life-long gardener, she has devoted her time since 1998 to writing and speaking about her favorite subject. Ann is a columnist for Herb Quarterly where she writes the ‘Herbalist Notebook’ and various herbal articles. She also writes feature articles for The Dallas Morning News. In between writing assignments, the Herb ‘n Cowgirl shares her love of herbs and her gardening techniques as a speaker and media guest.
MAHTN Award of Excellence
It is MAHTN's mission to promote awareness and acceptance of the professional practice of Horticultural Therapy through education, communication and networking. To that end, our Annual Awards Program allows us to recognize and underscore the efforts of those horticultural therapists and HT programs that consistently demonstrate outstanding achievement and success within the field. These individuals and facilities represent the highest standards of excellence in HT practice and serve as enduring models for those of us engaged in or entering the profession. Please consider nominating a fellow MAHTN member or nominate your program for the MAHTN Award of Excellence for 2017. Winners will be announced at the 2017 MAHTN Annual Conference. Descriptions of the award categories follow:
Program Excellence Award
This is awarded to a Horticultural Therapy program that makes a significant contribution to the advancement of the field through programming, service, delivery, quality program standards, evaluation process, public relations, and benefits to the community.
Outstanding Professional Service Award
This is awarded to a member of MAHTN in recognition of significant contributions to the field of Horticultural Therapy. This person shall be distinguished by their length of service, distinctive efforts in the promotion and development of Horticultural Therapy and has made a meaningful contribution to the field, effecting the philosophy or practice of Horticultural Therapy.
Please complete the MAHTN Award of Excellence form. Nominations must be received by August 25th. For questions about making a nomination, please contact Mandy Swope Joos.
Program Excellence Award
This is awarded to a Horticultural Therapy program that makes a significant contribution to the advancement of the field through programming, service, delivery, quality program standards, evaluation process, public relations, and benefits to the community.
Outstanding Professional Service Award
This is awarded to a member of MAHTN in recognition of significant contributions to the field of Horticultural Therapy. This person shall be distinguished by their length of service, distinctive efforts in the promotion and development of Horticultural Therapy and has made a meaningful contribution to the field, effecting the philosophy or practice of Horticultural Therapy.
Please complete the MAHTN Award of Excellence form. Nominations must be received by August 25th. For questions about making a nomination, please contact Mandy Swope Joos.
2017 MAHTN Annual Conference
We have an exciting one-day conference planned for Friday, October 13th at Foulkeways Senior Living in Gwynedd, PA. The conference theme is “HT and the Garden to Table Movement: Growing Food for Health, Wellness and Healing”. Director of Food Service and BOD Member-at-Large, John Kennedy, along with MAHTN members and Foulkeways residents, are planning a fun and inspiring day. We’ll hear stimulating presentations about developing community based garden programs in unusual spaces and we’ll be served small plate dishes, food show style, with farmers, growers and professional chefs demonstrating and serving.
Keep an eye on your inbox and the MAHTN Facebook page for up to the minute information. For registration and more details go to our website Annual Conference page. |
2017 AHTA Annual Conference
Join AHTA in Burlington, Vermont, September 8-9 (pre-tours on September 7) for the 2017 AHTA Annual Conference. Hosted by the Northeast Regional Networking Group, the Conference will bring together horticultural professionals from around the world. Pre-tours will feature local gardens and programs. Add in the bonus of the Fall "Leaf Peeper" season and you have the perfect combination of networking, education and fun. The conference will be held at the Burlington Hilton Hotel in the heart of the city. Visit the conference webpages for more information about pricing, hotel details and the full schedule.
|
MAHTN Practitioner's Forum: The Treatment Process-Therapeutic Activities
Text & Photo by Lesley Fleming, HTR
The treatment process is integral to the work horticultural therapists do. Understanding the 4 main components of the process—assessment, goal-setting, therapeutic activity and measuring outcomes—is essential to attaining client health improvements and for delivering quality programs. Below are highlights of the third component of the process "Therapeutic Activities".
The Treatment Process—Therapeutic Activities
Q: Can you review the treatment process, specifically how therapeutic activities are an integral part of the process?
A: As discussed in the previous two articles in the HT treatment process series, each component—assessment, goal-setting, therapeutic activities, and measurement of outcomes—relates to one another with the overriding purpose of client health improvement. Working through each stage of the process sequentially, choices for therapeutic activities will be guided and narrowed by the individual’s specific health goal. When clients participate in therapeutic hands-on activities delivered by trained professionals, they are “working”/having fun/undergoing treatment per their treatment plan. An example drawn from “Treatment Plans: Bringing Some Simplicity to a Complex Process” in e-book Therapeutic Horticulture A Practitioner’s Perspective (Fleming, 2016) demonstrates the inter-relatedness of each treatment component:
Health Domain: Social
Short Term Goals: Client will demonstrate cooperation in group setting in four
treatment sessions prior to release
HT Activity: Participating in production line potting plants; each person fulfills a
function
What to Measure: Client’s ability to perform tasks cooperating with others & free
from disruption
Other therapeutic activities that could address this identified goal might include: harvesting produce from a vegetable garden, sharing tools cooperatively with 2 other people, painting a rain barrel, taking turns painting, or loading plants onto trailer for upcoming plant sale, working as a team of four. One of the strengths of HT is the modality’s flexibility including the diversity of therapeutic activities suitable for achieving specified treatment goals.
Q: What are some ideas for activities that can provide therapeutic outcomes appropriate for clients?
A: No one activity is used exclusively for one specific health deficit/improvement, and the same activity can be used for different health goals depending on how the horticultural therapist delivers the treatment session. The traditional activities used in HT/TH, which continue to be effective and engaging include soil mixing, planting, pruning, harvesting, and garden maintenance tasks. An unlimited number of activities can be used as primary therapeutic activity or as ancillary, opening or ending activities, appropriate for tabletop, greenhouse or garden delivery sites. Consider these fifteen creative plant-based activities:
Books: Hill, T. (2009). The Everything Green Classroom Book. Avon, MA: Adams Media
Hewson, M. (1994). Horticulture As Therapy.
Junior Master Gardener (2004). Wildlife Gardener. Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
On-line:
The treatment process is integral to the work horticultural therapists do. Understanding the 4 main components of the process—assessment, goal-setting, therapeutic activity and measuring outcomes—is essential to attaining client health improvements and for delivering quality programs. Below are highlights of the third component of the process "Therapeutic Activities".
The Treatment Process—Therapeutic Activities
Q: Can you review the treatment process, specifically how therapeutic activities are an integral part of the process?
A: As discussed in the previous two articles in the HT treatment process series, each component—assessment, goal-setting, therapeutic activities, and measurement of outcomes—relates to one another with the overriding purpose of client health improvement. Working through each stage of the process sequentially, choices for therapeutic activities will be guided and narrowed by the individual’s specific health goal. When clients participate in therapeutic hands-on activities delivered by trained professionals, they are “working”/having fun/undergoing treatment per their treatment plan. An example drawn from “Treatment Plans: Bringing Some Simplicity to a Complex Process” in e-book Therapeutic Horticulture A Practitioner’s Perspective (Fleming, 2016) demonstrates the inter-relatedness of each treatment component:
Health Domain: Social
Short Term Goals: Client will demonstrate cooperation in group setting in four
treatment sessions prior to release
HT Activity: Participating in production line potting plants; each person fulfills a
function
What to Measure: Client’s ability to perform tasks cooperating with others & free
from disruption
Other therapeutic activities that could address this identified goal might include: harvesting produce from a vegetable garden, sharing tools cooperatively with 2 other people, painting a rain barrel, taking turns painting, or loading plants onto trailer for upcoming plant sale, working as a team of four. One of the strengths of HT is the modality’s flexibility including the diversity of therapeutic activities suitable for achieving specified treatment goals.
Q: What are some ideas for activities that can provide therapeutic outcomes appropriate for clients?
A: No one activity is used exclusively for one specific health deficit/improvement, and the same activity can be used for different health goals depending on how the horticultural therapist delivers the treatment session. The traditional activities used in HT/TH, which continue to be effective and engaging include soil mixing, planting, pruning, harvesting, and garden maintenance tasks. An unlimited number of activities can be used as primary therapeutic activity or as ancillary, opening or ending activities, appropriate for tabletop, greenhouse or garden delivery sites. Consider these fifteen creative plant-based activities:
- using harvested produce to make human faces in nutrition-focused sessions;
- painting pots with chalkboard paint (and writing message with chalk);
- planting bulbs or seeds in containers; creating brightly painted craft stick as plant labels;
- pruning using bonsai theory & techniques (eliminating negative pieces—literally & symbolically);
- building raised beds;
- creating & walking a labyrinth made with plants, paint or pebbles;
- preparing & cooking root or other vegetables;
- making leaf luminaries using glass or plastic jars;
- doing plant-related games (crosswords);
- making seed mancalas, terrariums, succulent wreaths, vertical wall planters, edible aquifers
Books: Hill, T. (2009). The Everything Green Classroom Book. Avon, MA: Adams Media
Hewson, M. (1994). Horticulture As Therapy.
Junior Master Gardener (2004). Wildlife Gardener. Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
On-line:
- Eat.Breathe.Garden: Eat.breathe.garden.com
- Garden Therapy Notes: http://www.gardentherapynotes.com/Horticultural-Therapy-Activities.html
- Pinterest HT Projects: https://www.pinterest.com/groovygardens/horticultural-therapy-projects/
Breathe Easy with Clean & Green Plants
A hot topic that has been circulating around Facebook recently has been how plants clean the air. Having been asked this twice in the past month by participants in HT sessions, it's a fitting time to take a look at the top 8 varieties of plants that improve air quality. Most of the plants listed are very common, easy to grow varieties. Considering the average human being spends roughly 90-percent of their time indoors (not HT's mind you), the quality of the air is certainly important—particularly when you consider the toxic compounds from paint and wallpaper, cleaning products, furniture, pollen, mold, bacteria, and in poorly ventilated homes. Think about some of our HT clients who might be house-bound or in an assisted living facility where they might not have opportunities to get outside. Add a new twist to your common dish garden activity and purchase the following 8 plants to provide an educational HT session encouraging the need to stay clean and green and most importantly-- to breathe easy. Luckily, welcoming potted houseplants into your life can help purify air and reduce harmful particulates in the air, as they absorb carbon dioxide to photosynthesize fresh oxygen.
Here are eight common and hearty houseplants that promote air quality:
Bamboo Palm
Miniature bamboo (or chamaedorea seifritzii) trees typically given as gifts of luck a few years back, have now re-emerged as a formaldehyde-filtering superstar, especially when they grow quickly from small palms to 12-foot high trees and will grow in low light conditions.
Peace Lily
The peace lily (or spathiphyllum sp.) often given as a house warming gift, packs a major air-cleaning punch to whatever indoor setting it graces. The white flowers are a added bonus and it's a hearty plant that will grow in low light and needs infrequent watering. And should you forget to water and it wilts, it's very forgiving and the leaves will spring back up with adequate water. The Peace Lily is a good plant for banishing several indoor pollutants, gases, and solvents like trichloroethylene, benzene, ammonia, and formaldehyde.
Dracaena
The dracaena comes in various shapes and sizes, with the topknot of long, thin leaves lined red, tan, or creamy white. The common house and office plant is a wonderful filter for xylene, formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene. However, don’t bring it into a pet-friendly home, as it’s toxic if nibbled on by cats and dogs. When growing a dracaena plant, locate it in brightly filtered light, such as through a sheer curtain in front of a sunny window.
Aloe Vera
Not only is the aloe plant wonderful to have on hand in wound or burn-healing emergencies. The gel within each leaf contains a mixture of amino acids, vitamins, and enzymes with anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and soothing benefits. While the plant itself filters formaldehyde from the air. Easy to grow in filtered light and requires little watering.
Garden Mum
The colorful garden mum (or chrysanthemum morifolium) is available in every color and in most stores at any time of the year. The mum is considered to be a superhero at air-purifying. The plant was found to removing multiple toxins from indoor airspace—including formaldehyde, ammonia, benzene, and xylene—which are common components of synthetic building materials, carpeting, and furniture upholstery from household items like manufactured wood, adhesives, carpeting, cleaners, and upholstery.
Weeping Fig
The weeping fig or commonly called the ficus (ficus benjamina) requires infrequent watering and indirect sunlight, which means that it's fairly low maintenance. Bring it inside during the cooler months to decrease pollutants like benzene and formaldehyde from indoor spaces, and move it outside in the warmer months where it will thrive and grow to heights up to 10-feet and more!
Snake Plant
Snake plant (or sansevieria trifasciata) sometimes referred to as mother-in-law's tongue, is a hearty plant for newbie green thumbs as it will grow with some neglect. This plant requires very little upkeep—only infrequent watering and little sun. However, it will keep other sneaky indoor menaces at bay, by filtering trichloroethylene, benzene, xylene, and formaldehyde from the air.
Spider Plants
Thin-leafy spider plants (or chlorophytum comosum vittatum) is an ideal novice houseplant because it’s tough to kill and can live through almost anything, even if you forget to water it once in a while. The only thing the spider plant needs to flourish is bright, indirect sunlight to keep multiplying shoots (or growing baby spiderettes). The plant will also suck up harmful xylene and formaldehyde from the air.
Here are eight common and hearty houseplants that promote air quality:
Bamboo Palm
Miniature bamboo (or chamaedorea seifritzii) trees typically given as gifts of luck a few years back, have now re-emerged as a formaldehyde-filtering superstar, especially when they grow quickly from small palms to 12-foot high trees and will grow in low light conditions.
Peace Lily
The peace lily (or spathiphyllum sp.) often given as a house warming gift, packs a major air-cleaning punch to whatever indoor setting it graces. The white flowers are a added bonus and it's a hearty plant that will grow in low light and needs infrequent watering. And should you forget to water and it wilts, it's very forgiving and the leaves will spring back up with adequate water. The Peace Lily is a good plant for banishing several indoor pollutants, gases, and solvents like trichloroethylene, benzene, ammonia, and formaldehyde.
Dracaena
The dracaena comes in various shapes and sizes, with the topknot of long, thin leaves lined red, tan, or creamy white. The common house and office plant is a wonderful filter for xylene, formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene. However, don’t bring it into a pet-friendly home, as it’s toxic if nibbled on by cats and dogs. When growing a dracaena plant, locate it in brightly filtered light, such as through a sheer curtain in front of a sunny window.
Aloe Vera
Not only is the aloe plant wonderful to have on hand in wound or burn-healing emergencies. The gel within each leaf contains a mixture of amino acids, vitamins, and enzymes with anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and soothing benefits. While the plant itself filters formaldehyde from the air. Easy to grow in filtered light and requires little watering.
Garden Mum
The colorful garden mum (or chrysanthemum morifolium) is available in every color and in most stores at any time of the year. The mum is considered to be a superhero at air-purifying. The plant was found to removing multiple toxins from indoor airspace—including formaldehyde, ammonia, benzene, and xylene—which are common components of synthetic building materials, carpeting, and furniture upholstery from household items like manufactured wood, adhesives, carpeting, cleaners, and upholstery.
Weeping Fig
The weeping fig or commonly called the ficus (ficus benjamina) requires infrequent watering and indirect sunlight, which means that it's fairly low maintenance. Bring it inside during the cooler months to decrease pollutants like benzene and formaldehyde from indoor spaces, and move it outside in the warmer months where it will thrive and grow to heights up to 10-feet and more!
Snake Plant
Snake plant (or sansevieria trifasciata) sometimes referred to as mother-in-law's tongue, is a hearty plant for newbie green thumbs as it will grow with some neglect. This plant requires very little upkeep—only infrequent watering and little sun. However, it will keep other sneaky indoor menaces at bay, by filtering trichloroethylene, benzene, xylene, and formaldehyde from the air.
Spider Plants
Thin-leafy spider plants (or chlorophytum comosum vittatum) is an ideal novice houseplant because it’s tough to kill and can live through almost anything, even if you forget to water it once in a while. The only thing the spider plant needs to flourish is bright, indirect sunlight to keep multiplying shoots (or growing baby spiderettes). The plant will also suck up harmful xylene and formaldehyde from the air.
Chillin' with Veggies
By Pam Young, HTR
I know it seems like we just got everything planted--those extra seedlings that didn't sell at the HT annual plant sale that needed a home, those late purchases of left-over annuals that were such a great price you couldn't pass them up. Mornings, with the hope of cooler temperatures have been spent tucking them here, there, and everywhere. Of course, the fate of our gardens always hinges on a higher power but we now spend time watering, watering and more watering to keep things growing, flowering and producing. Believe it or not, your labor of love in the garden doesn't stop there. Now is the time to start thinking about planting for a late fall harvest. Here are a few tips to get you chillin' with veggies and moving in that direction.
I know it seems like we just got everything planted--those extra seedlings that didn't sell at the HT annual plant sale that needed a home, those late purchases of left-over annuals that were such a great price you couldn't pass them up. Mornings, with the hope of cooler temperatures have been spent tucking them here, there, and everywhere. Of course, the fate of our gardens always hinges on a higher power but we now spend time watering, watering and more watering to keep things growing, flowering and producing. Believe it or not, your labor of love in the garden doesn't stop there. Now is the time to start thinking about planting for a late fall harvest. Here are a few tips to get you chillin' with veggies and moving in that direction.
- When direct seeding, check your seed packets and select varieties that mature in the shortest amount of time. Count back from your first expected frost date and plan accordingly.
- Plant seeds deeper in the fall, than in the spring. The ground is warmer in fall. Planting them a little deeper than the package suggests will get them down where it is cool and moist.
- Transplants can handle swings in temperature and water better than seeds and newly emerged seedlings.
- Pelletized seeds that are coated in clay are sometimes available for vegetables that take a long time to germinate, like carrots. They retain water better than uncoated seed, which means less watering and tender loving care from you. They tend to be more expensive and sometimes need to be mail ordered.
- As with all root vegetables, beets are best grown from seed. You don't want to disturb the root, once it is growing. Beets are easy to grow in succession, allowing you a staggered harvest from spring into summer. Although beets will still grow in summer heat, they can have a tendency to get bitter and woody quickly. But late summer is a great time to resume succession planting, at 2-3 week intervals. The bulbs will keep growing until a hard freeze and even the tops can handle a bit of frost.
- Bok choy and many other Asian greens, are well suited to fall planting. The so called "baby" bok choy varieties grow only about 8 inches tall and grow quickly, in about 40 days. They revel in cool weather and fall has the added advantage of less leaf pests. Since they won't bolt to seed as quickly as they might in warming spring weather, you can harvest heads as you need them.
- Broccoli, like other cole crops, grows best in cool weather. Fall planting has two big advantages over spring planting. First, although broccoli plants can tolerate frost, tender broccoli seedlings are not as hardy and early spring frosts can shock or kill them. And secondly, since the florets are flower buds, they will open more slowly in cool weather, giving you more time to harvest. Broccoli does take several months to mature, so look for quick growers, like ‛Waltham'.
- Fall is perfect growing weather for cabbage. The plants will grow in warm weather, but they need cool weather to form a head. And the best flavor comes from cabbage plants that can grow at a nice steady pace, with plenty of water. Cabbage needs anywhere from 90-120 days to mature, so a fall crop is easiest if you transplant seedlings in mid- to late summer. Most of the vegetables in the cabbage family are hardy enough to handle a light frost.
- Carrots are not the quickest growers, but some of the smaller varieties like ‛Thumbelina' and ‛Paris Market', will mature in about 50 days. Another option is sowing your fall carrots in containers. Long window boxes with a depth of at least 6 inches are great for this. You can keep them close at hand, where they are convenient for watering and safe from four-footed pests.
- Fall is a better time to grow cauliflower than spring. Something about the cool weather keeps the heads tight and tender. If you've experienced heads with a gritty texture, chances are good they were grown in the spring. Set out transplants in mid- to late summer and watch the difference. But remember, cabbage worms can still be a problem, so consider growing them under row covers.
- Kale is probably the easiest cole crop to grow. The seeds germinate in warm or cool soil and it's grown for its leaves, so you don't have to worry about a head forming or the flowers bolting. The advantage of growing it in the fall is the magic that happens to so many vegetables that are grown in cool weather or hit by a light frost; the leaves will still have a great texture and the flavor with sweeten and deepen. Start seeds for fall harvesting in mid- to late summer or transplant in late summer.
- Radishes like to grow quickly and in cool, moist soil. Most of the problems associated with growing radishes in the spring (woody texture, hot and bitter taste, small bulbs...) will be alleviated by sowing them in the fall. You might also want to experiment with some of the "winter" radishes, like ‛Round Black Spanish'.
- If you've been frustrated by your spinach bolting before it's even large enough to eat, you are going to love growing it in the fall. Spinach only takes about 30-40 days to mature and even less, if you like small, tender leaves. You can get several succession sowings of spinach in throughout the fall.
How Urban Greening Affects Our Health
By Sandy Bauers
Around a corner, next to a building, and behind a wall is an oasis of greenery and flowers that has its roots – almost literally – in bygone medicine. Long ago, the Physic Garden was envisioned as a source of healing plants for physical health. Foxglove for heart medicine. Lamb’s ear for bandaging. Sneezeweed for colds. That’s no longer the case. But, as it turns out, the garden today is considered to be important for healing, nonetheless – the boost to spiritual and mental health that comes from urban green spaces.
The garden at Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751, is bursting with flowers this time of year. At just about any time of day, you’re likely to see physicians, patients, families and even mere passers-by pausing to sit, chat, eat lunch and ponder whatever in their lives needs pondering. The entrance is on the 300 block of Eighth Street, between Spruce and Pine.
To learn more about the garden, and its healing mission, we spoke with Stacey Peeples, the curator and lead archivist at the hospital. She oversees the historic collections. Then, for a more clinical perspective, we turned to Eugenia South, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine. Her research focuses on how urban environments affect the health of the people who live there.
Stacey, tell us more about the origins of the garden.
The physicians who were here recognized the need to have a medicinal garden onsite. It was 1774, so it made perfect sense. You don’t want to have to keep ordering plants and herbs from across the ocean. We could grow it ourselves and reduce our overhead. Except for the fact that when the physicians petitioned the board, they approved it, but they wanted to check with their friends in London and see if they could find a good gardener. The 1770s, as you know, were a little bit of a tumultuous time. Before they could get a gardener, the war broke out.
The hospital was hit very hard by the American Revolution. It was occupied by the British and, just as in any conflict, when the people moved out after the occupation, they took a lot of stuff with them. Basically, they took everything that wasn’t nailed down. It meant that the hospital was really at a loss. They had to buy things and replenish supplies. They were being forced to accept paper money, which had very little value. Throughout the history of the hospital, it seemed like that blow to them financially was something they always struggled with.
So they were not in a position to have their medicinal garden. It never happened … until 204 years later, during the Bicentennial in 1976.
Why then? Surely they no longer needed medicinal plants from it.
It was that Bicentennial spirit of wanting to honor everything from our colonial past, from our beginnings. This was a project people could get behind because it’s beautification. Who doesn’t love a garden? A lot of people were involved — the Philadelphia Chapter of Garden Clubs of America, Friends of Pennsylvania Hospital, employees, and other local interested parties.
But even though the garden wasn’t used for medicinal purposes, and even though at that point there wasn’t as much discussion as now about the cathartic nature of going out into a garden, there was still the idea that, at a hospital, there was a need to have a quiet space, or to have something that is calming. Inherent in what goes on at a hospital is that it’s so busy.
Do you see evidence of that? Who uses this garden?
I have encountered a variety of groups – from mothers and children to people who are local to the neighborhood who just like to go and sit quietly. Oftentimes, you’ll find employees out there. You’ll find family members of patients who maybe need to make a difficult phone call, or maybe they just need a few minutes. I tell people all the time that if you’re waiting for someone in surgery, you don’t have to sit in a waiting room. You can sit in a garden.
I really think that idea of the therapeutic landscape and somehow communing with nature and being in an environment that is designed to be calming and beautiful has a direct effect on people. The reason gardens continue to flourish is because they meet a need. Often, that need is our emotional need.
Eugenia, you’ve studied the effects of urban greening. Is this a surprise?
My interest in green space and gardens and understanding their health and wellness benefits stems from an interest in violence prevention. As an emergency physician, I see the effects of violent crime. People who have been shot. People who have been stabbed. We do a great job in the hospital fixing their injuries. But then we send them back into the same communities. We do not address the root causes of violence.
One of the ways I began to address that is through the environmental causes of violence. A big part of that is vacant and abandoned spaces. Philadelphia has more than 40,000 vacant lots and abandoned homes. They’re often concentrated in low-resource neighborhoods. People who live in communities that have a lot of vacancies point to these properties as threats to their health. Both from a mental-health standpoint – fear and stress – and from a physical standpoint. They attract rodents and trash, they are magnets of crime.
We have worked with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to study their vacant lot “clean and green” program. They turn a trashy, overgrown lot into a clean and green space. We’ve studied these spaces in a variety of ways and have found a couple of important health benefits.
One is that they really do reduce violent crime. Also, we found evidence that people feel safer and that they have reduced stress. Heart rate is a good marker of stress. The higher the rate, the more the stress. We monitored people’s heart rates as they walked past these spaces, before and after they were cleaned and greened, and found that their heart rates dropped significantly after. This is in line with a lot of other research that has shown that green space and gardens can reduce mental fatigue, help people have a more positive mood, and even improve behavior in, say, kids with ADHD.
Can you extrapolate the Physic Garden?
Having gardens at hospitals is part of a growing movement recognizing the importance of green space and gardens to health. There is building evidence now that green space helps people to better deal with whatever is psychologically stressful in their lives. For people at the hospital, it may be the stress of the disease they have. For families of patients who may be feeling the stress of having a loved one who is ill, having access to green space can help them cope with that difficult time.
Volunteer gardeners are needed Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. through the growing season for weeding, deadheading spent blooms and other tasks. Contact lead volunteer Kate McGrann at 215-334-6111 or kmcgrann@aol.com. Volunteers receive vouchers for lunch in the hospital cafeteria and reduced-price parking.
Sandy Bauers has worked as an editor and a reporter at The Inquirer for more than two decades. She has covered features and news, and in 2006 was named the environment reporter. She lives on three acres in northern Chester County with her husband, two cats, a large vegetable garden and a flock of pet chickens. GreenSpace - her column and blog - looks at how you to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life you can also read her work at the The GreenSpace blog which is updated regularly.
This article was written by Sandy Bauers and published May 25, 2017 in the Philadelphia Inquirer
Around a corner, next to a building, and behind a wall is an oasis of greenery and flowers that has its roots – almost literally – in bygone medicine. Long ago, the Physic Garden was envisioned as a source of healing plants for physical health. Foxglove for heart medicine. Lamb’s ear for bandaging. Sneezeweed for colds. That’s no longer the case. But, as it turns out, the garden today is considered to be important for healing, nonetheless – the boost to spiritual and mental health that comes from urban green spaces.
The garden at Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751, is bursting with flowers this time of year. At just about any time of day, you’re likely to see physicians, patients, families and even mere passers-by pausing to sit, chat, eat lunch and ponder whatever in their lives needs pondering. The entrance is on the 300 block of Eighth Street, between Spruce and Pine.
To learn more about the garden, and its healing mission, we spoke with Stacey Peeples, the curator and lead archivist at the hospital. She oversees the historic collections. Then, for a more clinical perspective, we turned to Eugenia South, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine. Her research focuses on how urban environments affect the health of the people who live there.
Stacey, tell us more about the origins of the garden.
The physicians who were here recognized the need to have a medicinal garden onsite. It was 1774, so it made perfect sense. You don’t want to have to keep ordering plants and herbs from across the ocean. We could grow it ourselves and reduce our overhead. Except for the fact that when the physicians petitioned the board, they approved it, but they wanted to check with their friends in London and see if they could find a good gardener. The 1770s, as you know, were a little bit of a tumultuous time. Before they could get a gardener, the war broke out.
The hospital was hit very hard by the American Revolution. It was occupied by the British and, just as in any conflict, when the people moved out after the occupation, they took a lot of stuff with them. Basically, they took everything that wasn’t nailed down. It meant that the hospital was really at a loss. They had to buy things and replenish supplies. They were being forced to accept paper money, which had very little value. Throughout the history of the hospital, it seemed like that blow to them financially was something they always struggled with.
So they were not in a position to have their medicinal garden. It never happened … until 204 years later, during the Bicentennial in 1976.
Why then? Surely they no longer needed medicinal plants from it.
It was that Bicentennial spirit of wanting to honor everything from our colonial past, from our beginnings. This was a project people could get behind because it’s beautification. Who doesn’t love a garden? A lot of people were involved — the Philadelphia Chapter of Garden Clubs of America, Friends of Pennsylvania Hospital, employees, and other local interested parties.
But even though the garden wasn’t used for medicinal purposes, and even though at that point there wasn’t as much discussion as now about the cathartic nature of going out into a garden, there was still the idea that, at a hospital, there was a need to have a quiet space, or to have something that is calming. Inherent in what goes on at a hospital is that it’s so busy.
Do you see evidence of that? Who uses this garden?
I have encountered a variety of groups – from mothers and children to people who are local to the neighborhood who just like to go and sit quietly. Oftentimes, you’ll find employees out there. You’ll find family members of patients who maybe need to make a difficult phone call, or maybe they just need a few minutes. I tell people all the time that if you’re waiting for someone in surgery, you don’t have to sit in a waiting room. You can sit in a garden.
I really think that idea of the therapeutic landscape and somehow communing with nature and being in an environment that is designed to be calming and beautiful has a direct effect on people. The reason gardens continue to flourish is because they meet a need. Often, that need is our emotional need.
Eugenia, you’ve studied the effects of urban greening. Is this a surprise?
My interest in green space and gardens and understanding their health and wellness benefits stems from an interest in violence prevention. As an emergency physician, I see the effects of violent crime. People who have been shot. People who have been stabbed. We do a great job in the hospital fixing their injuries. But then we send them back into the same communities. We do not address the root causes of violence.
One of the ways I began to address that is through the environmental causes of violence. A big part of that is vacant and abandoned spaces. Philadelphia has more than 40,000 vacant lots and abandoned homes. They’re often concentrated in low-resource neighborhoods. People who live in communities that have a lot of vacancies point to these properties as threats to their health. Both from a mental-health standpoint – fear and stress – and from a physical standpoint. They attract rodents and trash, they are magnets of crime.
We have worked with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to study their vacant lot “clean and green” program. They turn a trashy, overgrown lot into a clean and green space. We’ve studied these spaces in a variety of ways and have found a couple of important health benefits.
One is that they really do reduce violent crime. Also, we found evidence that people feel safer and that they have reduced stress. Heart rate is a good marker of stress. The higher the rate, the more the stress. We monitored people’s heart rates as they walked past these spaces, before and after they were cleaned and greened, and found that their heart rates dropped significantly after. This is in line with a lot of other research that has shown that green space and gardens can reduce mental fatigue, help people have a more positive mood, and even improve behavior in, say, kids with ADHD.
Can you extrapolate the Physic Garden?
Having gardens at hospitals is part of a growing movement recognizing the importance of green space and gardens to health. There is building evidence now that green space helps people to better deal with whatever is psychologically stressful in their lives. For people at the hospital, it may be the stress of the disease they have. For families of patients who may be feeling the stress of having a loved one who is ill, having access to green space can help them cope with that difficult time.
Volunteer gardeners are needed Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. through the growing season for weeding, deadheading spent blooms and other tasks. Contact lead volunteer Kate McGrann at 215-334-6111 or kmcgrann@aol.com. Volunteers receive vouchers for lunch in the hospital cafeteria and reduced-price parking.
Sandy Bauers has worked as an editor and a reporter at The Inquirer for more than two decades. She has covered features and news, and in 2006 was named the environment reporter. She lives on three acres in northern Chester County with her husband, two cats, a large vegetable garden and a flock of pet chickens. GreenSpace - her column and blog - looks at how you to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life you can also read her work at the The GreenSpace blog which is updated regularly.
This article was written by Sandy Bauers and published May 25, 2017 in the Philadelphia Inquirer
|
Sharpen your HT tool kit and be an integral part of MAHTN….
Contact any Board Member for more information to find where you can best grow with MAHTN.
|
Looking for an archive of past MAHTN newsletters? Please visit: www.mahtn.org/mahtn-newsletter-archive.html
Copyright (C) 2017 MAHTN, Inc. All rights reserved.
