A prescription for gardening

Practitioners of therapeutic horticulture (TH) bring connection and healing through the gift of gardening and by designing gardens for respite and rejuvenation.

If you’re reading this you undoubtedly already know the benefits of gardening and pottering around with plants! But many do not, or they have lost the opportunity to garden. This is where TH steps in, with trained professionals seeking to connect, or reconnect, people with the magic and practice of raising plants, or through the experience of time in a respite garden.

A TH horticulture practitioner requires a diverse range of skills – horticulture or landscape architecture/design with expertise from the allied health area, such as social work, psychology, community work or diversional therapy. TH practitioners work with individuals or groups, from schools to aged care, hospitals to refugee communities, and in prisons, businesses, mental health support groups and with people of all ranges of ability. TH practitioners customise programs for different needs, seeking to engage and connect people with plants and gardens. The benefits are profound and the practice of TH is expanding rapidly in Australia.

Therapeutic horticulture’s long and noble history

Gardening, as distinct from agriculture, has been with us for a long time, subtly bestowing its social, psychological and physical benefits on generations of people, but it blossomed into a true mode of rehabilitation and therapy in the aftermath of World War I, when shell-shocked veterans were ‘prescribed’ gardening activities to help overcome the trauma of war. Throughout the ensuing years, gardening programs were created in rehabilitation settings across England, Europe and North America. In Australia, from the late 1970s, rehabilitation specialists joined with horticulturalists to create programs to support people in recovery from illness and accidents. TH programs and respite gardens are now widespread across our society.

The ‘magic’ of gardening, based in science

Gardeners know the sense of calm and easy focus when gardening, or in simply nurturing pots of herbs on the kitchen windowsill.

What is fascinating though, is the way science has sought to investigate and explain the benefits that gardens and plant nurture bring. Japanese researchers measured improved EEG heart recordings, lowered blood pressure and reduced cortisol (a hormone released under stress) in their experiments’ participants when they sat at a table and merely looked at potted plants in front of them.

Literally at ground level, compelling research found that a soil bacterium known as Mycobacterium vaccae could trigger the release of the feel-good hormone serotonin. Whilst I wouldn’t endorse self-medicating with garden soil, people who were exposed to M. vaccae whilst gardening demonstrated an elevation in mood, a decrease in anxiety and, interestingly, an improvement in cognitive function.

More easily applied is the finding that specific plant aroma compounds could dampen the autonomic nervous system’s stress response. Pine and cedar foliage were particularly potent and beneficial. Other fragrances, such as lavender and rosemary, triggered a re-awakening of memories in dementia sufferers, helping to improve both mood and connection with others.

Respite gardens designed for wellbeing

TH landscape architects and designers also apply the principles of biophilic design in creating spaces that positively support our brains’ evolutionary need for nature connection. Design firm Terrapin Bright Green’s “prospect, refuge, mystery and risk” strategies support rich and restorative garden spaces. You can create such spaces in your own plot – the simple formula is to have something to look out to, e.g. a feature tree or pond (prospect); a safe spot to sit protected on two to three sides, e.g. against the fence or wall to view your feature (refuge); some curving paths or slightly obscured parts of the garden (mystery) and something to arouse attention and subtle thrills, e.g. native bee hotel, stepping stones in a shallow pond. And don’t forget some fragrant plants!

Vitamin G – the blossoming of green nature scripts

Therapeutic horticulture, as part of other nature-connection strategies, may well be prescribed to us for a variety of ailments very soon. In April this year, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the peak body for GPs in Australia, published a guidance article to GPs on how to write ‘nature scripts’. Such scripts may refer you to the services of a TH practitioner, or simply direct you to dedicate a certain amount of time each week to your plants – a most palatable medicine for many of us!

Written by Leigh McGaghey, landscape architect and therapeutic horticulturist.