• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Horticulture therapy classes planned in fall

Photo

Michael R. Maddox

JANESVILLE — It’s nice to be in the garden—everybody knows that.

The sights, sounds and smells seem specifically designed to lift spirits and ease the burdens of everyday life.

What people might not know is that benefits of gardens and gardening go far beyond the pretty flower effect.

The field is called “horticultural therapy,” and this fall Rotary Botanical Gardens in conjunction with the UW Extension are hosting a series of classes, “Connecting Personal Wellness to the Garden.”

Topics include accessible gardens, customizing healing gardens, elements for a healing garden and plants for horticulture therapy.

If it sounds like new age hocus-pocus, consider:

In the 1940s and 1950s, horticultural therapy was used in the rehabilitative care of hospitalized war veterans.

“Horticultural therapy was a tool for improving physical, mental and emotional health,” said Mike Maddox, horticulture educator for UW Extension and director of education at Rotary Botanical Gardens.

At the very basic level, hort therapy is about interacting with green stuff.

“Just going into a garden has been shown to have a therapeutic effect,” Maddox said. “People have a physiological response that calms them down, helps reduce stress and recharges their minds.”

At the most complex level, hort therapy means using gardening-related activities to help reach a specific rehabilitative goal.

“When stroke patients start to work on rehab, the therapist might have them work on fine motor skills,” Maddox said. “They might pick up items such as pennies or marbles and move them from one cup to another. But how does that make them feel? Is it social? Do people feel like they’re doing something productive?”

Similar exercises involving gardening might be more rewarding and uplifting.

Another common rehab technique is to record how long a patient can stand will doing a certain task. Instead of having the patient engage in a purposeless activity, the patient could stand at a potting bench and work in the soil.

Gardening also can be part of a rehab or strengthening program for seniors, people with cognitive and physical disabilities and as occupational therapy.

In Rock County, Maddox and a crew of volunteers already are involved in activities that would fall under the horticultural therapy banner. One example is their work with the Rock County Jail inmate garden.

The food is sent to senior meal and WIC sites. The gardeners learn a work ethic, how to follow instructions, how to complete a task, horticulture basics and the joy of succeeding in a positive venture.