Awaken the Senses: It's Spring and Horticultural Therapy Week

Spring’s bounty is at our fingertips as the seasonal cycles of nature awaken, and we seek to get our hands in the dirt and soak up the longer days of sunlight. 

The official start of spring is March 20 when day and night are of equal length and the sun is directly above the equator. This week, March 16-22, is Horticultural Therapy Week which aims to increase awareness of the therapeutic benefits of the time-proven practice which uses plants and nature-based materials with, or without a physical garden space, to enhance quality of life.

New Jersey became the first state to officially recognize horticultural therapy through Horticultural Therapy Week, designated nationally in 2006.

Sales of flowers, seeds and potted plants continue to increase every year since 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The recent surge coincides with the fact that some millennials, defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as America’s youth born between the ages of 1982 and 2000, are delaying home ownership but still want something fresh and alive in their apartments.  Science shows that flowers, plants, trees and nature create emotional bonds between people and their community; that these elements equate directly to their quality of life and give reason to socialize.   

Humans interpret the world through the five senses: sight, taste, touch, smell and sound. The brain processes information taken in through sense organs of the eyes, tongue, nose and ears. An individual’s sense of awareness can be compromised by emotional, mental, cognitive functioning, brain injury and medication. What makes horticultural therapy special is that it is practiced through vocational, social and therapeutic programs, and successfully enables and empowers individuals to achieve their maximum independence in an array of settings and embraces the healing power of nature for physical and psychosocial well-being.

The activities in horticultural therapy allow children through seniors to engage the senses at their own pace, ability and creativity and connect to nature, exploring colors, textures, sizes, shapes and fragrances, both verbally and non-verbally, according to Laura DePrado, CEO, Final Touch Plantscaping, LLC. DePrado, who specializes in customizing activities and programs for people across the Garden State, noted the garden projects can be changed and added to at any time during the season. 

"As Mother Earth awakens our seasonal rhythms are responding to nature, and we in turn are responding to her care,” DePrado said. “This offers a look to the future, and to hope, while offering physical activity on some level." 

The American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) is the national nonprofit organization advocating for the development of the horticultural therapy profession, established in 1973, and the practice of horticulture as therapy for human wellbeing. Its mission is to advance horticultural therapy as a therapeutic and rehabilitative modality. 

The latest outcomes reveal that working with plants is good for you, including keeping you healthy, easing chronic pain, reducing stress, offering social outlet and improving mood, concentration and your diet. For nature to best work its relaxing, calming effect it is preferable to have a high-fascination value, meaning an environment that automatically pulls the viewer into it is most beneficial research shows. Exposure to natural environments of the most mundane sort has proven to lift people’s moods and enhance their ability to mentally focus.  

Additionally, gardens are now accessible with adaptive tools and devices and planting tables and spaces to accommodate abilities. People who can benefit from therapeutic horticulture include veterans; those with PTSD, depression, anxiety, brain injury, dementia, stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, cancer, cancer survivorship, addiction, recovery and eating disorders and at-risk youth. Programs can be active, for example, sowing seeds, planting and digging, and/or passive, such as sitting in nature, bird watching and listening to nature.

Robert Wood University Hospital Somerset’s Steeplechase Cancer Center will celebrate this year’s 10^th Anniversary of Horticultural Therapy Week in New Jersey with patients and employees. 

“At Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset’s Steeplechase Cancer Center, we take a holistic approach to care. We don’t just focus on patients’ physical needs but their emotional, social and spiritual as well,” according to Deirdre Blaus, interim chief administrative officer. 

“Our horticultural therapy workshop has been extremely popular,” Blaus continued. “Working with plants and flowers allows patients to be creative and helps boost their mood and reduces stress and anxiety. The projects give them something they can control at a time in their lives when there is a lot they can’t control. The class also helps them to meet new friends and build the social support they need throughout their cancer journey.  We are so grateful to Laura [DePrado] for sharing her talents to provide horticultural therapy for our patients.”

Additional local celebrations of Horticultural Therapy Week will include the Adult Day Center of Somerset County, Somerset County employees and Footprints to Recovery in Hamilton, Mercer County.  

A joint resolution from Legislative Districts 16 and 23 will be presented, along with a proclamation by the Somerset County Commissioners this month.