My radio partner, Cecil Yumul, has a mini forest in her house. It is a place frequented by friends who want a relaxing atmosphere. It is a refuge for those who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, and for those who simply want peace and serenity after a long day’s work. Cecile calls it a healing garden.
Cecile shared in our radio program last Saturday how her garden helped those who are stressed and have mental and emotional issues. Some of these people, which include famous celebrities, immersed themselves in the mini-forest for a couple of days and came out reinvigorated.
Apparently, the ‘healing’ in Cecile’s garden has a scientific basis. In fact, some hospitals in the United States have healing gardens. As Deborah Franklin writes for Scientific American about one study on the topic, "Patients with bedside windows looking out on leafy trees healed, on average, a day faster, needed significantly less pain medication and had fewer postsurgical complications than patients who instead saw a brick wall."
The practice of using gardens, plants, and horticultural activity to relieve physical and mental symptoms is called horticultural therapy. Research suggests that it is helpful for managing mood disorders and mental illness, and can also be designed to help improve balance, strength, and work skills. In the United States, there are even registered Horticultural Therapist.
Horticultural therapy was first practiced in the early 19th century by Dr. Benjamin Rush, a physician considered to be the first psychiatrist. Dr. Rush observed and documented the benefits of working with plants for his patients at his Philadelphia clinic. His efforts led to the use of horticultural therapy as a treatment option for individuals with mental illness.
Horticultural therapy was extensively used after World War II, when it was successfully used to help treat veterans recovering from wounds and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It was then that practitioners discovered the positive impact of horticultural therapy for rehabilitation and vocational training.
How does being around plants provide healing? In addition to oxygen that plants give off, we breathe in phytoncides, airborne chemicals that plants release to protect themselves from insects. Phytoncides have antibacterial and antifungal qualities which help plants fight disease. When people breathe in these chemicals, our bodies respond by increasing the number and activity of a type of white blood cell called natural killer cells or NK. These cells kill tumor- and virus-infected cells in our bodies.
Roger Ulrich, a leading researcher in healing gardens, said: "We have a kind of biologically prepared disposition to respond favorably to nature because we evolved in nature”. Nature is fundamentally linked to our human spirituality. Out in nature, we feel how we are connected to entities beyond ourselves and understand our interdependencies with other living beings.
On a spiritual note, nature reminds us of God who expresses his love for us through his wonderful creation. There’s nothing more relaxing than knowing there’s a God who cares.