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Horticultural therapy

Plants are an important part of life. Throughout our history they have provided food, medicine, shelter and more. Today, they still provide but instead of cherishing what plants do for us, we instead often neglect taking time just for ourselves.
therapy
Gardening and therapy go hand in hand. Photo by Patricia Hanbidge

Plants are an important part of life. Throughout our history they have provided food, medicine, shelter and more. Today, they still provide but instead of cherishing what plants do for us, we instead often neglect taking time just for ourselves.

It seems that each day is not long enough to complete the chores at home or at work leaving little time for the simple pleasures of life. Our lives are full of anxiety, stress and impatience. We look for instant fixes to our stress levels, medical problems and lack of patience. Perhaps what we should be doing is pausing, re-evaluating our priorities and taking the time for those simple pleasures in life that will reduce stress and recharge our batteries.

Gardening is one of those simple pleasures that continues to bring great satisfaction to people of any age. It is a passion for many and an enjoyable pastime for others. There are no restrictions on gardening – you can be young or old, sick or healthy. Gardening is also an effective therapy that adds contentment, pleasure and joy to your everyday life.  Often gardening means hard work, which leads to sore muscles and tired backs. But overshadowing all of these temporary ailments is the ability that gardening has to soothe your soul.

In the summer season, the therapy is easy to access as gardening is simple when the climate co-operates. In the winter months however, you need not give up your therapy – you just need to be a bit more creative. Students at the Saskatoon School of Horticulture learn and practice horticulture therapy throughout their schooling. This program is beneficial to those who participate but also to the student body. Interestingly enough, there is also apparent benefit to those delivering the program. In the words of one student, “Doing the horticulture therapy program has changed my life!”

As far as horticulture therapy goes, any activity is fine as long as you remember that horticultural therapy uses plants and gardens to promote social, psychological, physical and intellectual well-being. The benefits include physical activity, relaxation, social interaction, a feeling of productivity and self-satisfaction not to mention a spiritual connection with life. Horticultural therapy is practised in the home, in our schools, in special care facilities and involves an endless array of special needs groups.

Therapy need not be realized just in a traditional therapy programs. Exploring that link between the soil, plants and our inner souls can be done in a variety of ways. The Saskatoon School of Horticulture is ready once again to contribute to the well-being of those interested by offering a therapy program that also gives you knowledge and experience exploring the benefits of working with flowers. There are a number of summer classes, kids camps and programs available to anyone and everyone regardless of the skill level. Please go to our website at www.saskhort.com for more information.

— Hanbidge is a horticulturist with the Saskatoon School of Horticulture and can be reached at 306-931-GROW(4769); by email at growyourfuture@gmail.com or check out our website at www.saskhort.com