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Horticultural therapy is a growing form (no pun intended!) of therapy for all types of medical patients due to its versatility. Patients with limited mobility, cancer patients, patients recovering from post traumatic stress disorder, as well as incarcerated individuals all benefit from horticultural therapy.
Traditional Horticultural Therapy
Horticultural therapy for patients that do not experience mobility challenges is as simple as regular gardening. Schools, hospitals, prisons, day-homes for adults and other facilities all may have gardens maintained by their constituents. School gardens can have fun themes such as the alphabet or nursery rhymes. Day-centers and prisons may find that their gardeners enjoy tending flowers and vegetables the best—so they can share their products with others.
Gardening allows people to take in air, get exercise and see tangible results other than bulging muscles. Whether five years old and recovering from PTSD, or fifty years old doing hard time, tasting a tomato you have grown yourself is like no other experience. Gardening is a confidence-building and productive activity. Working around plants is peaceful, and allows people to become part of the natural “cycle of life,” consciously and unconsciously.
Hydroponic Horticultural Therapy
When most people think of horticultural therapy, they probably think of raised flower beds that folks in wheelchairs, or elderly people who cannot bend can easily access. While raised beds are the most common type of therapeutic gardens, hydroponic gardens are gaining in popularity and are much more versatile and mobile—perfect for people with limited mobility. Hydroponic gardens can be as large or as small as the garden prefers, and can fit in classrooms, therapist offices, kitchens and lounge areas.
Hydroponic gardens are excellent for sterile situations where bacteria and organisms in soil may be cause for concern. Plants in hydroponic gardens grow in nutrient solutions, not in soil, and the solutions can be prepared from sterilized ingredients.
The variability of size makes hydroponic gardens accessible for almost every location. These gardens may be placed on a windowsill, or under a growth lamp. Hospital patients will enjoy watching their plants grow, from afar and up close. Portable hydroponic setups can be brought over to the patient and placed on the wheeling tray common to most hospital rooms.
Children will enjoy building simple gardens during group therapy that they can take home and watch. The gardens will give them something else to focus on beyond the stressful situation they are recovering from. Lettuce gardens are great for kids, because they can keep their garden in their kitchen, and actually harvest and eat the fruits of their labor. Just as traditional gardening elevates confidence, so does hydroponic gardening.
Many hobby gardeners describe gardening as their “therapy” or their refuge away from stress of work and home life. Horticultural therapy programs harvest such characteristics of gardening and put them to work along with traditional therapeutic techniques. Hydroponics adds an even more interesting twist to horticultural therapy, allowing gardeners from all backgrounds, and in all states of heath to experience the fun and oddity of growing plants without soil on their kitchen counters and windowsills. Even after their participation in a formal program is over, gardeners will stay hooked on hydroponics.