The Healing Garden
from Active Minds & Dirty Hands, Senior Gardeners and Horticultural Therapy by Hank Bruce & Tomi Jill Folk
One of the hot topics today is the HEALING GARDEN. This is a concept that
designs special features around hospitals and other buildings using the fine art
of landscaping to inspire a sense of calmness and peace in some of the most
stressful places. Usually shade, flowers, comfortable seating curving walkways,
often with water features can all be a part of such a garden. This is great but
it is only the beginning. This is a passive experience, but it can be so much
more. While we think of this as a healing for the patient, it can go far beyond,
to their family and friends, the professional caregivers and staff, including
doctors, nurses and volunteers. The healing garden can be located on the grounds
of a hospital, a rehabilitation center, senior care community, religious
community, house of worship, hospice, mortuary, grief center or memorial
garden. The healing that can happen here can be physical, mental, emotional and
spiritual. These four aspects that define who we are can not effectively be
treated separately.
The healing garden need not be a huge and labor intensive botanical garden.
It does need to be accessible to those who need it. That includes the staff,
volunteers, chaplains, family, social workers and friends. They can find their
way to the healing garden to shed stress and seek their own harmony. It is also
a safe and comforting place for those who want to, or need to, spend time with a
patient for confidential conversation and therapy. It also needs to be
accessible to the patient alone or several patients together.
This isn’t a place to park a patient and leave them in solitude, unless that
is their choice. It is the place where the people-plant connecting can be
incredibly calming, inspiring and relaxing. In the company of the plants and the
earth miracles can happen.
The key to a successful healing garden, either passive or active is the
opportunity for engagement, either individually or with others.
The journey from passive to active healing gardens
One of the primary roles of a healing garden is to reduce stress. When we
provide a space designed to be safe, inviting and comforting, what we are really
doing is making an effort to reduce stress for all who enter. This begins with
the limiting of warnings and signs proclaiming "Do Not!" A good healing garden
can contain some, not necessarily all, of the following. These elements are all
designed to limit stress and provide an emotional comfort zone, a safe place.
This can become a comfortable place to meditate, pray, converse, accept reality
and heal. When one member of the family is ill, infirm, experiencing recovery or
facing end-of-life, the entire family and network of friends is also facing the
same emotions, feels the same pain and needs the same opportunity to work
through the difficult process. The following elements of a good healing garden
can give one the strength to seek answers, face reality and share the
discomfort.
The following are a few guidelines for the creation of a healing garden. It
is strongly recommended that before designing such a garden a professional
horticultural therapist be consulted. This is not usually in the realm of
expertise of a landscape architect. When a healing garden is ready for use it is
also suggested that the staff attend a seminar on the effective use of such a
garden. Not only is this advised to prevent problems but to obtain the most
benefit from it.
1. Safe walkways with accessible plantings that become a sensory experience,
as well as a way of experiencing the people-plant connection.
2. Resting areas, seating, stones and log benches that blend the natural and
the creative to produce places for meditation or prayer. These are opportunities
to let go, discard the burdens, even for a little while.
3. Features such as distinctive plantings, sensory experiences, arbors,
butterfly gardens, and fountains that provide destinations are a part of the
garden and the journey, but in the design of a healing garden is it is important
not to over do the planting so that it becomes little more that confusing,
sensory overload that can increase the stress and discomfort. Keep it simple,
keep it comfortable.
4. Plant and non-plant materials that provide multi-seasonal features. Too
often the healing garden is a neglected area after spring flowers or other
seasonal displays. Healing needs to happen throughout the year.
5. Conversation stations, stopping points where families or small groups can
pause to visit. Visiting the healing garden doesn’t have to be a solitary
journey.
Healing in the tea garden
While discussing the role and value of a healing garden with a community
group, one of the participants spoke up. "Oh, you mean like a Japanese tea
garden?"
She was absolutely right. The tea garden is a journey with a series of
thresholds where the visitor can let go of stress and move toward a state of
harmony and inner peace. This makes the garden a place of active engagement,
even if the one on the journey through the garden is not planting, pruning or
doing any of the "work." In this journey, as we let go, we can truly experience
with all of our senses. In the tea garden, the way of tea, the journey is as
much a part of the destination as the tea house. This is one of the purest
applications of a healing garden. The concept of a garden as a place for healing
is not limited to one place or time. In the Egypt of the pharaohs there were
special gardens where the stressed could walk and recline, find rest and
renewal. Medieval monasteries had meditation gardens for both physical and
spiritual healing. All through history humanity has instinctively sought the
comfort of the people-plant connection, and viewed the garden as a place of
healing.
Sensory elements and discoveries to be made
The plant material is only a part of the healing garden concept. In the
journey from passive to active engagement the inspiration for active experiences
often depends on the non-plant materials, the available locations for meditation
and the tools to permit active involvement. Opportunities to touch, smell,
contemplate, recall or share a memory are the benefits of sensory moments. Other
opportunities include a rake to texture a sand garden, an accessible garden
space with trowels and small plants that can be planted, vines that may need
trimming and training, and the list is limited only by the creativity of those
involved. The healing garden can provide moments of empowerment, a decrease in
depression, the exercising of mind and body and healing moments that originate
with sensory stimulation, whimsical moments, and freedom to contemplate,
meditate and pray. The journey can be one of personal discovery, or from within
to beyond oneself. The journey isn’t always from illness to health. It can be a
journey anger or fear to acceptance.
Plantings can provide sensory stimulation, without Do Not Touch
signs. In one healing garden hanging baskets lined the walkway and each had a
sign suggesting that the visitor touch the leaves, smell the flowers or share a
special moment. It is even better when these plant features reflect the familiar
plants, trees, herbs, vegetables and flowers of the people who will be using the
healing garden rather than the landscape architect’s favortites.
Herbs and other aromatic plants should be spaced apart, not clustered
together. When the scents become jumbled it ceases to be therapeutic and can
become stressful. The healing garden can provide opportunities for the use of
art, statuary and whimsy along the pathways and near seating. These can inspire
meditation moments, prayers and discussion. The healing process can be shortened
when we can share the questions, the fear and the anger with others. When we can
be a part of this conversation, when we are willing to listen, we can be a gift
to each other. The healing garden provides the safe place to talk, and
listen.
Use signs to identify the plants. While this isn’t a botanical garden the
simple labeling of the plants can be a way to share information, and this
gaining of knowledge can be empowering. Signs should be conveniently placed, and
if signs are in Braille they must at a uniform height and consistently within
reach.
Features such as butterfly gardens and hummingbird feeders can be a very
beneficial part of an active healing garden. Some view such elements as a
distraction, but they stimulate the senses and make it possible to become
engaged. These sensory elements help to draw the individual from self outward in
the journey from isolation to engagement. The sharing of these discoveries can
be a powerful gift from the healing garden.
Sand boxes, Zen gardens, whimsical statuary, religious icons and touch pools
all serve a similar purpose. They all break down the barriers and open the doors
to contemplation, prayer, conversation and activities ranging from touching and
raking to smiles and laughter. A small patch of grass that is accessible by
wheelchair can have a profound impact on people who are able to be "barefoot in
the grass." This can be even better if two or more people are able to share this
joyful, and spiritual, connection with the earth. Night blooming and night
fragrant plants can have great value in expanding the usefulness of the healing
garden.
Healing Gardens don’t have to be outdoors
In many places, at many times of the year, climate and weather can interfere
with the effective use and benefits of a healing garden. It may be too hot or
too cold to provide a comfortable environment. Wind, rain, snow or ice in the
garden can pose a safety risk for the health of everyone involved. This doesn’t
mean that the healing garden is a bad investment in time, energy or finances.
The garden can be placed where there are large windows so that it can be viewed
in the comfort and safety of the indoors. There is sensory stimulation in a
snowfall, icicles, a thunderstorm or even a late night view of the garden.
Comfortable chairs with space for a wheelchair can make the virtual visit to the
garden a healing experience. If there are materials such as photos, pine cones,
bouquets, pussy willow and birch twigs available as props the value can be
greatly enhanced.
A powerpoint slide show of seasonal scenes, activities in the garden,
butterflies, flowers, seeds being planted, sprouting, blooming, producing fruit
and appearing on the dinner table, and other scenes linking the garden to our
existence can have a valuable influence on the patient, family and all others
concerned. This can have great value for those with Alzheimer’s and hospice
patients as well. These can have musical accompaniment and be used by a trained
horticultural therapist to calm, reduce anxiety, stress and anger, and initiate
conversation.
Lobbies and hallways can be home to potted plants, fountains, lights &
sound. Artwork can be displayed in areas where there is easy access and
comfortable seating. Statuary and whimsy can also be a part of this little
indoor oasis. This is also a healing garden.
Birds, fish, therapy dogs, cats and bunnies can be a part of the indoor or
outdoor healing garden. There are some precautions that must be taken when
including animals. There are some with allergies to birds, dogs or cats. The
animals must be in good health themselves and it is best to limit the number of
animals present at any given time to avoid confusion, undo stress and fear.
There is a great deal of benefit to be gained from the engagement with therapy
dogs, cats and rabbits. Of course cleanliness must be a part of the routine.
Writing, poetry and art can be even more effective means of engagement even
when the weather limits outdoor visits to the healing garden. Therapeutic
writing programs conducted in a healing garden setting can be very
effective.
Healing Gardens and Grief
The trauma of loss affects us in different ways, but one of the tools for
dealing with this pain is by retelling the stories. Our role is to provide a
safe place and a willingness to listen. The healing garden can serve this
purpose very well. The setting is safe, comfortable, relaxing and welcoming.
Avery had lost his wife to cancer. He had two years to emotionally prepare
himself for her passing, but he was still overwhelmed. He was seventy-three and
they had been together for more than forty years. He was told, "Get over it."
"She’s better off now." And "You’ll feel a great sense of relief now that you
don’t have to care for her." These comments and bits of advice were painful and
compounded his sense of grief.
He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t sleep because he was haunted by a sense of
guilt. He was older, he was the one who should have gone. His mind kept bringing
up every instance when he could have done more, been a better husband, cared
more, listened more. Within two months he was admitted to the local hospital, so
frail he could hardly stand. Part of the care plan for Avery was a daily visit
to the Rose Garden, a corner section of the hospital’s healing garden. There
were comfortable chairs and dappled shade. The roses were within reach, could be
touched, the fragrance inhaled, the soul comforted.
One afternoon, a staff member was sitting beside him, trying to get him to
talk about what he was feeling. When he started speaking, the tears began to
flow. She plucked a small red rose from one of the vines. With this velvet soft
flower she dabbed the tears from his cheeks. That was the moment that started
his journey.
"Sheila loved roses," he spoke without looking at the young lady beside him.
He was gazing at the clusters of roses rambling over the trellis. He later told
anyone who would listen that in that moment he could see Sheila smiling as she
tended her Climbing Crimson Glory at their old house in Cleveland.
The half hour visit to the healing garden became a conversation lasting over
an hour and a half. He told the aide about Sheila’s battle with cancer. Details
were brought to mind, mistakes confessed and the pain of grief shared.
This scene was repeated day after day, and with each telling there were new
memories, some painful, some loving, and some even humorous. He recalled a game
they used to play, as an old married couple. She would get up on the step ladder
to trim some of the climbing rose blossoms and he would stand below wearing his
old baseball glove from high school. As she tossed the flowers he would "play
short stop" and catch them. It was during one of the tellings of this story that
they were joined by two other patients. Soon they were telling their stories, in
the comfort and security of this healing space. With each telling of the story
of Sheila’s death, the pain of the loss was lessened and good memories balanced
the bad. With grief, most of us never do completely "get over it." But we can
learn to survive.
The value of a safe place where the story can be told again and again, has
great value for victims of violence, conflict, brutality, accidents, natural
disasters and other personal horrors. The people-plant connection, in the form
of a healing garden, can provide the necessary safe place to share the memories,
the sorrow, pain or horror. With each retelling the memory loses its power to
control the thoughts and actions of the individual. With each telling the victim
gains strength over the moment that haunts.
Getting your hands dirty, active healing gardens
Planting seeds or starting cuttings is the ultimate engagement in a healing
garden. This isn’t the best activity for every visitor to the garden, but for
some in can provide an outlet for the intense emotions one is experiencing. A
small area can be set aside, apart from the more passive elements. It need not
be a distraction for the space designed for contemplation, meditation, prayer,
conversation or counseling. In the following true story the healing garden was a
home, a backyard.
She was a hospice patient with congestive heart failure. She asked her son
and daughter-in-law to set up a folding table in the shade of an oak tree."Bring
me some dirt," she said smiling and pausing to catch her breath. Then, as her
son helped her into the chair she continued, "Could you reach that ivy hanging
basket for me?"
In a matter of minutes she had a dishpan full of potting soil, a pair of
scissors, an ivy hanging basket and a shoe box filled with square three inch
plastic pots she had been painting for over two weeks. Each had a colorful
flower on three sides and the words THANK YOU on the fourth. As she used the
scissors to take cuttings, fill the pots with soil, carefully press her index
finger into the soil, and place three cuttings in each, she was humming one of
her favorite hymns. She had to pause often, take a sip of water and just regain
a little strength. By the time she leaned forward in her chair and fell asleep
she had potted over four dozen of her custom designed planters.
As she was helped back to her room she explained to her daughter-in-law
"These are for you to give to all those nice hospice folks when I’m gone." She
again paused to gain her breath, then said, "Make sure Henry keeps those watered
until my funeral." Mom always called me Henry.
She checked on their progress for two more weeks, then she was gone. The
plants grew and were so appreciated by all. I suspect that some of those are
still growing in someone’s backyard in Florida.
This was one of the ways she dealt with her decline and approaching death.
He concern for all those she had connected with was also therapeutic. It was a
privilege to use our backyard as a healing garden. It was in the shade of those
oak trees that she greeted visitors, shared rainbow ice cream with the nurses
and swapped flowers, cuttings and bouquets with "all those nice hospice
folks."
These activities can be can be guided, group or individual experiences.
Sometimes we try too hard to control every moment, make certain that every
action is productive when sometimes the best thing we can do is let go and let
things happen, even in a healing garden. Often the activity prompts discussion,
venting or letting go of the stress, but if we keep up a constant nervous
chatter the good stuff never has a chance to surface.
Safety in the Healing Garden is a valid concern
1. Solid walkways of brick or concrete are more easily navigated by
wheelchair or walker than gravel or bark chips. Flagstone may be attractive, but
is difficult to maneuver in a wheelchair, or with a cane, or unaided.
2. Curbing along the edges of walks can prevent wheelchair accidents.
3. Frequent resting spots with shade, comfortable chairs, space for a
wheelchair or hospital bed, and sensory plants, statuary or whimsy.
4. Access to water and restrooms is necessary, not only for the patient but
companions as well. Dehydration can be a serious problem.
5. Be cautious in the use of poisonous and dangerous plants. This is one of
the often overlooked factors in the landscaping of a healing garden. There is a
multitude of safe plant material that can be used. Different regions and
climates will present different possibilities.
6. Walkways can be lighted for evening and nighttime use. The healing
doesn’t stop when the sun goes down. If the healing garden is going to be
accessible in the evening, nighttime and early morning hours there needs to be
subdued lighting for the walks, seating areas, and illumination of significant
plantings, statuary and whimsy. Multicolored or twinkling lights are sometimes
used but this can overload and limit the therapeutic value of the healing
garden. As a matter of safety access, should be limited after nightfall and
staff should accompany patients.
7. One of the frequently overlooked health threats for a haling garden is
the use of pesticides, fertilizers and other lawn & garden chemicals. These
materials should be avoided when possible, and when necessary they must be used
with caution.
The healing garden need not be massive, or complex, it does need to be safe
and accessible. This can be the ultimate celebration of the people-plant
connection and one of the most significant applications of horticultural
therapy. It is a matter of quality of life for some, a part of the journey
toward healing for many others. This is one of the ways that hospitals,
rehabilitation centers, senior care, cancer treatment, trauma centers, and so
many other venues can expand the ways that healing can take place.
designs special features around hospitals and other buildings using the fine art
of landscaping to inspire a sense of calmness and peace in some of the most
stressful places. Usually shade, flowers, comfortable seating curving walkways,
often with water features can all be a part of such a garden. This is great but
it is only the beginning. This is a passive experience, but it can be so much
more. While we think of this as a healing for the patient, it can go far beyond,
to their family and friends, the professional caregivers and staff, including
doctors, nurses and volunteers. The healing garden can be located on the grounds
of a hospital, a rehabilitation center, senior care community, religious
community, house of worship, hospice, mortuary, grief center or memorial
garden. The healing that can happen here can be physical, mental, emotional and
spiritual. These four aspects that define who we are can not effectively be
treated separately.
The healing garden need not be a huge and labor intensive botanical garden.
It does need to be accessible to those who need it. That includes the staff,
volunteers, chaplains, family, social workers and friends. They can find their
way to the healing garden to shed stress and seek their own harmony. It is also
a safe and comforting place for those who want to, or need to, spend time with a
patient for confidential conversation and therapy. It also needs to be
accessible to the patient alone or several patients together.
This isn’t a place to park a patient and leave them in solitude, unless that
is their choice. It is the place where the people-plant connecting can be
incredibly calming, inspiring and relaxing. In the company of the plants and the
earth miracles can happen.
The key to a successful healing garden, either passive or active is the
opportunity for engagement, either individually or with others.
The journey from passive to active healing gardens
One of the primary roles of a healing garden is to reduce stress. When we
provide a space designed to be safe, inviting and comforting, what we are really
doing is making an effort to reduce stress for all who enter. This begins with
the limiting of warnings and signs proclaiming "Do Not!" A good healing garden
can contain some, not necessarily all, of the following. These elements are all
designed to limit stress and provide an emotional comfort zone, a safe place.
This can become a comfortable place to meditate, pray, converse, accept reality
and heal. When one member of the family is ill, infirm, experiencing recovery or
facing end-of-life, the entire family and network of friends is also facing the
same emotions, feels the same pain and needs the same opportunity to work
through the difficult process. The following elements of a good healing garden
can give one the strength to seek answers, face reality and share the
discomfort.
The following are a few guidelines for the creation of a healing garden. It
is strongly recommended that before designing such a garden a professional
horticultural therapist be consulted. This is not usually in the realm of
expertise of a landscape architect. When a healing garden is ready for use it is
also suggested that the staff attend a seminar on the effective use of such a
garden. Not only is this advised to prevent problems but to obtain the most
benefit from it.
1. Safe walkways with accessible plantings that become a sensory experience,
as well as a way of experiencing the people-plant connection.
2. Resting areas, seating, stones and log benches that blend the natural and
the creative to produce places for meditation or prayer. These are opportunities
to let go, discard the burdens, even for a little while.
3. Features such as distinctive plantings, sensory experiences, arbors,
butterfly gardens, and fountains that provide destinations are a part of the
garden and the journey, but in the design of a healing garden is it is important
not to over do the planting so that it becomes little more that confusing,
sensory overload that can increase the stress and discomfort. Keep it simple,
keep it comfortable.
4. Plant and non-plant materials that provide multi-seasonal features. Too
often the healing garden is a neglected area after spring flowers or other
seasonal displays. Healing needs to happen throughout the year.
5. Conversation stations, stopping points where families or small groups can
pause to visit. Visiting the healing garden doesn’t have to be a solitary
journey.
Healing in the tea garden
While discussing the role and value of a healing garden with a community
group, one of the participants spoke up. "Oh, you mean like a Japanese tea
garden?"
She was absolutely right. The tea garden is a journey with a series of
thresholds where the visitor can let go of stress and move toward a state of
harmony and inner peace. This makes the garden a place of active engagement,
even if the one on the journey through the garden is not planting, pruning or
doing any of the "work." In this journey, as we let go, we can truly experience
with all of our senses. In the tea garden, the way of tea, the journey is as
much a part of the destination as the tea house. This is one of the purest
applications of a healing garden. The concept of a garden as a place for healing
is not limited to one place or time. In the Egypt of the pharaohs there were
special gardens where the stressed could walk and recline, find rest and
renewal. Medieval monasteries had meditation gardens for both physical and
spiritual healing. All through history humanity has instinctively sought the
comfort of the people-plant connection, and viewed the garden as a place of
healing.
Sensory elements and discoveries to be made
The plant material is only a part of the healing garden concept. In the
journey from passive to active engagement the inspiration for active experiences
often depends on the non-plant materials, the available locations for meditation
and the tools to permit active involvement. Opportunities to touch, smell,
contemplate, recall or share a memory are the benefits of sensory moments. Other
opportunities include a rake to texture a sand garden, an accessible garden
space with trowels and small plants that can be planted, vines that may need
trimming and training, and the list is limited only by the creativity of those
involved. The healing garden can provide moments of empowerment, a decrease in
depression, the exercising of mind and body and healing moments that originate
with sensory stimulation, whimsical moments, and freedom to contemplate,
meditate and pray. The journey can be one of personal discovery, or from within
to beyond oneself. The journey isn’t always from illness to health. It can be a
journey anger or fear to acceptance.
Plantings can provide sensory stimulation, without Do Not Touch
signs. In one healing garden hanging baskets lined the walkway and each had a
sign suggesting that the visitor touch the leaves, smell the flowers or share a
special moment. It is even better when these plant features reflect the familiar
plants, trees, herbs, vegetables and flowers of the people who will be using the
healing garden rather than the landscape architect’s favortites.
Herbs and other aromatic plants should be spaced apart, not clustered
together. When the scents become jumbled it ceases to be therapeutic and can
become stressful. The healing garden can provide opportunities for the use of
art, statuary and whimsy along the pathways and near seating. These can inspire
meditation moments, prayers and discussion. The healing process can be shortened
when we can share the questions, the fear and the anger with others. When we can
be a part of this conversation, when we are willing to listen, we can be a gift
to each other. The healing garden provides the safe place to talk, and
listen.
Use signs to identify the plants. While this isn’t a botanical garden the
simple labeling of the plants can be a way to share information, and this
gaining of knowledge can be empowering. Signs should be conveniently placed, and
if signs are in Braille they must at a uniform height and consistently within
reach.
Features such as butterfly gardens and hummingbird feeders can be a very
beneficial part of an active healing garden. Some view such elements as a
distraction, but they stimulate the senses and make it possible to become
engaged. These sensory elements help to draw the individual from self outward in
the journey from isolation to engagement. The sharing of these discoveries can
be a powerful gift from the healing garden.
Sand boxes, Zen gardens, whimsical statuary, religious icons and touch pools
all serve a similar purpose. They all break down the barriers and open the doors
to contemplation, prayer, conversation and activities ranging from touching and
raking to smiles and laughter. A small patch of grass that is accessible by
wheelchair can have a profound impact on people who are able to be "barefoot in
the grass." This can be even better if two or more people are able to share this
joyful, and spiritual, connection with the earth. Night blooming and night
fragrant plants can have great value in expanding the usefulness of the healing
garden.
Healing Gardens don’t have to be outdoors
In many places, at many times of the year, climate and weather can interfere
with the effective use and benefits of a healing garden. It may be too hot or
too cold to provide a comfortable environment. Wind, rain, snow or ice in the
garden can pose a safety risk for the health of everyone involved. This doesn’t
mean that the healing garden is a bad investment in time, energy or finances.
The garden can be placed where there are large windows so that it can be viewed
in the comfort and safety of the indoors. There is sensory stimulation in a
snowfall, icicles, a thunderstorm or even a late night view of the garden.
Comfortable chairs with space for a wheelchair can make the virtual visit to the
garden a healing experience. If there are materials such as photos, pine cones,
bouquets, pussy willow and birch twigs available as props the value can be
greatly enhanced.
A powerpoint slide show of seasonal scenes, activities in the garden,
butterflies, flowers, seeds being planted, sprouting, blooming, producing fruit
and appearing on the dinner table, and other scenes linking the garden to our
existence can have a valuable influence on the patient, family and all others
concerned. This can have great value for those with Alzheimer’s and hospice
patients as well. These can have musical accompaniment and be used by a trained
horticultural therapist to calm, reduce anxiety, stress and anger, and initiate
conversation.
Lobbies and hallways can be home to potted plants, fountains, lights &
sound. Artwork can be displayed in areas where there is easy access and
comfortable seating. Statuary and whimsy can also be a part of this little
indoor oasis. This is also a healing garden.
Birds, fish, therapy dogs, cats and bunnies can be a part of the indoor or
outdoor healing garden. There are some precautions that must be taken when
including animals. There are some with allergies to birds, dogs or cats. The
animals must be in good health themselves and it is best to limit the number of
animals present at any given time to avoid confusion, undo stress and fear.
There is a great deal of benefit to be gained from the engagement with therapy
dogs, cats and rabbits. Of course cleanliness must be a part of the routine.
Writing, poetry and art can be even more effective means of engagement even
when the weather limits outdoor visits to the healing garden. Therapeutic
writing programs conducted in a healing garden setting can be very
effective.
Healing Gardens and Grief
The trauma of loss affects us in different ways, but one of the tools for
dealing with this pain is by retelling the stories. Our role is to provide a
safe place and a willingness to listen. The healing garden can serve this
purpose very well. The setting is safe, comfortable, relaxing and welcoming.
Avery had lost his wife to cancer. He had two years to emotionally prepare
himself for her passing, but he was still overwhelmed. He was seventy-three and
they had been together for more than forty years. He was told, "Get over it."
"She’s better off now." And "You’ll feel a great sense of relief now that you
don’t have to care for her." These comments and bits of advice were painful and
compounded his sense of grief.
He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t sleep because he was haunted by a sense of
guilt. He was older, he was the one who should have gone. His mind kept bringing
up every instance when he could have done more, been a better husband, cared
more, listened more. Within two months he was admitted to the local hospital, so
frail he could hardly stand. Part of the care plan for Avery was a daily visit
to the Rose Garden, a corner section of the hospital’s healing garden. There
were comfortable chairs and dappled shade. The roses were within reach, could be
touched, the fragrance inhaled, the soul comforted.
One afternoon, a staff member was sitting beside him, trying to get him to
talk about what he was feeling. When he started speaking, the tears began to
flow. She plucked a small red rose from one of the vines. With this velvet soft
flower she dabbed the tears from his cheeks. That was the moment that started
his journey.
"Sheila loved roses," he spoke without looking at the young lady beside him.
He was gazing at the clusters of roses rambling over the trellis. He later told
anyone who would listen that in that moment he could see Sheila smiling as she
tended her Climbing Crimson Glory at their old house in Cleveland.
The half hour visit to the healing garden became a conversation lasting over
an hour and a half. He told the aide about Sheila’s battle with cancer. Details
were brought to mind, mistakes confessed and the pain of grief shared.
This scene was repeated day after day, and with each telling there were new
memories, some painful, some loving, and some even humorous. He recalled a game
they used to play, as an old married couple. She would get up on the step ladder
to trim some of the climbing rose blossoms and he would stand below wearing his
old baseball glove from high school. As she tossed the flowers he would "play
short stop" and catch them. It was during one of the tellings of this story that
they were joined by two other patients. Soon they were telling their stories, in
the comfort and security of this healing space. With each telling of the story
of Sheila’s death, the pain of the loss was lessened and good memories balanced
the bad. With grief, most of us never do completely "get over it." But we can
learn to survive.
The value of a safe place where the story can be told again and again, has
great value for victims of violence, conflict, brutality, accidents, natural
disasters and other personal horrors. The people-plant connection, in the form
of a healing garden, can provide the necessary safe place to share the memories,
the sorrow, pain or horror. With each retelling the memory loses its power to
control the thoughts and actions of the individual. With each telling the victim
gains strength over the moment that haunts.
Getting your hands dirty, active healing gardens
Planting seeds or starting cuttings is the ultimate engagement in a healing
garden. This isn’t the best activity for every visitor to the garden, but for
some in can provide an outlet for the intense emotions one is experiencing. A
small area can be set aside, apart from the more passive elements. It need not
be a distraction for the space designed for contemplation, meditation, prayer,
conversation or counseling. In the following true story the healing garden was a
home, a backyard.
She was a hospice patient with congestive heart failure. She asked her son
and daughter-in-law to set up a folding table in the shade of an oak tree."Bring
me some dirt," she said smiling and pausing to catch her breath. Then, as her
son helped her into the chair she continued, "Could you reach that ivy hanging
basket for me?"
In a matter of minutes she had a dishpan full of potting soil, a pair of
scissors, an ivy hanging basket and a shoe box filled with square three inch
plastic pots she had been painting for over two weeks. Each had a colorful
flower on three sides and the words THANK YOU on the fourth. As she used the
scissors to take cuttings, fill the pots with soil, carefully press her index
finger into the soil, and place three cuttings in each, she was humming one of
her favorite hymns. She had to pause often, take a sip of water and just regain
a little strength. By the time she leaned forward in her chair and fell asleep
she had potted over four dozen of her custom designed planters.
As she was helped back to her room she explained to her daughter-in-law
"These are for you to give to all those nice hospice folks when I’m gone." She
again paused to gain her breath, then said, "Make sure Henry keeps those watered
until my funeral." Mom always called me Henry.
She checked on their progress for two more weeks, then she was gone. The
plants grew and were so appreciated by all. I suspect that some of those are
still growing in someone’s backyard in Florida.
This was one of the ways she dealt with her decline and approaching death.
He concern for all those she had connected with was also therapeutic. It was a
privilege to use our backyard as a healing garden. It was in the shade of those
oak trees that she greeted visitors, shared rainbow ice cream with the nurses
and swapped flowers, cuttings and bouquets with "all those nice hospice
folks."
These activities can be can be guided, group or individual experiences.
Sometimes we try too hard to control every moment, make certain that every
action is productive when sometimes the best thing we can do is let go and let
things happen, even in a healing garden. Often the activity prompts discussion,
venting or letting go of the stress, but if we keep up a constant nervous
chatter the good stuff never has a chance to surface.
Safety in the Healing Garden is a valid concern
1. Solid walkways of brick or concrete are more easily navigated by
wheelchair or walker than gravel or bark chips. Flagstone may be attractive, but
is difficult to maneuver in a wheelchair, or with a cane, or unaided.
2. Curbing along the edges of walks can prevent wheelchair accidents.
3. Frequent resting spots with shade, comfortable chairs, space for a
wheelchair or hospital bed, and sensory plants, statuary or whimsy.
4. Access to water and restrooms is necessary, not only for the patient but
companions as well. Dehydration can be a serious problem.
5. Be cautious in the use of poisonous and dangerous plants. This is one of
the often overlooked factors in the landscaping of a healing garden. There is a
multitude of safe plant material that can be used. Different regions and
climates will present different possibilities.
6. Walkways can be lighted for evening and nighttime use. The healing
doesn’t stop when the sun goes down. If the healing garden is going to be
accessible in the evening, nighttime and early morning hours there needs to be
subdued lighting for the walks, seating areas, and illumination of significant
plantings, statuary and whimsy. Multicolored or twinkling lights are sometimes
used but this can overload and limit the therapeutic value of the healing
garden. As a matter of safety access, should be limited after nightfall and
staff should accompany patients.
7. One of the frequently overlooked health threats for a haling garden is
the use of pesticides, fertilizers and other lawn & garden chemicals. These
materials should be avoided when possible, and when necessary they must be used
with caution.
The healing garden need not be massive, or complex, it does need to be safe
and accessible. This can be the ultimate celebration of the people-plant
connection and one of the most significant applications of horticultural
therapy. It is a matter of quality of life for some, a part of the journey
toward healing for many others. This is one of the ways that hospitals,
rehabilitation centers, senior care, cancer treatment, trauma centers, and so
many other venues can expand the ways that healing can take place.