HORTICULTURAL THERAPY AT THE FLOWER SHOW
The Mid-Atlantic Horticultural Therapy Network of the American Horticultural Therapy Association was an exhibitor at the 2010 Philadelphia Flower Show for the first time. The Show is the largest indoor flower show in the world with attendance of over 250,000 people. The horticultural therapy exhibit presented many of the ways in which HT is presented to the various populations served. There were raised planters, adaptive tools, sensory plants and many other aspects of the profession for people to experience.
Comments offered by many of the people stopping by the exhibit were extremely encouraging. People talked about how they were positively affected by their involvement with horticultural therapy while they were in hospital and other instances. They talked about how it had positively impacted family members in a variety of settings. The exhibit even received several awards for display and presentation.
Horticultural therapy exhibt at the Philadelphia Flower Show
You can read more about horticultural therapy exhibit and the Flower Show at:
Read moreGARDENS AND MUSCLE
Therapeutic Gardens and Exercise
We lose muscle as we age. This is a fact. As we get older, our muscles shrink. However, we do not have to sit back and think that there is nothing we can do about it. Exercise can reverse this trend. The old adage, ‘use it or lose it’ takes on even more significance. A story on NPR’s Morning Edition today talks about the studies that are being conducted to show how exercise can help people build new muscle at any age. People in their 80′s who exercise with weights, as an example, increase muscle and get stronger. (A link to the story is below).
So, how does this translate to the garden? When we are outside moving a wheel barrow that is filled with tools or soil, we are in fact weight training. Digging holes for new plants, trimming shrubs, cutting branches, sweeping the walk, moving garden furniture, raking the lawn incorporate bending, stretching, reaching, and other movements that are good for us. The tools we are using act as weights and we are doing two things at the same time. We are working in our garden and simultaneously exercising in a very soothing gym. The result is that we are all rebuilding muscle that has been lost to a natural occurrence called aging. We are also creating a beautiful environment that we can all enjoy.
The garden is therapeutic. We can classify this aspect of gardening as good for our health. The activities listed above, and so many more, can be performed by people at any age. This is the active part of using the garden. We are creating gardens that we can look at and feel good about. We are also creating gardens in which we can exercise and improve our health. The link to the NPR 2-22-10 story can be found at:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123887823
Read moreSEED HOBBY
There are special collectors for all kinds of items, such as rare coins, subway tokens, Pez dispensers and cow creamers. Well, it should come as no surprise that there are people who collect the seeds from plants. And, there are seed exchanges that you can join too swap the seeds that you have collected.
This is a great hobby for the gardener who would like to grow an unusual variety of tomato or other vegetables and perennials. These plants are not the ones you would typically find in plant catalogs. They are special seeds that have been traded to the seed exchanges. There is typically a fee to join a seed exchange.
Sunflowers
This may be just the gift to give for an avid gardener for Valentine’s Day, a birthday or other special occasion. It is a perfect gift for elders in a senior community who have a garden and would like to grow special plants this year.
Today’s edition of the Wall Street Journal contains an article on the subject – http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704820904575055181332462128.html?mod=djemLifeStyle_h
Read moreHALF WAY TO SPRING
February 2nd is the day when a (nearly) famous groundhog emerges to see his shadow. If he does in fact see his shadow, it signals six more weeks of winter. (Even if he does not see his shadow – there are still six more weeks of winter.) It is a day of parties and merriment in Punxsutawney, PA. You may recall the movie with Bill Murray – Groundhog Day.
It was actually Germans immigrants who brought along their tradition of celebrating the midpoint of winter. They did were not able to find any badgers in PA and had to use the groundhog to carry on the tradition. It is a day that signifies that we have reached the halfway mark in winter.
The hibernating animals are beginning to stir in their underground nests. I think that is how we all are feeling. The sun’s light is getting a little longer each day and the warmth of the it’s rays feels good on our skin. We can almost taste the days of spring ahead. There are a few other signs to look for, such as the snow drops and crocus beginning to emerge from the ground. The bods of the flowering trees start to swell. I saw a few hostas peaking through a sheltered part of the garden last week.
These feelings that we have a real and remind us of our connection to nature. We start to look through catalogs and plan our garden.
Looking for signs of spring
The Philadelphia Flower Show, the largest indoor flower show in the world, is attended by over 250,000 people. They are hungry for a taste of spring – even if it is literally forced. So, take heart, spring is not all that far away. The groundhog and other indicators remind us that we are half way there.
Read moreHEIRLOOM VEGETABLES
Even though the temperatures may deter us from venturing outside for any great length of time, there are breaks that give us a short window to escape outside to start to plan and dream of spring. There are chores to do like picking up fallen branches, cutting back the ornamental grasses and pruning the trees and shrubs while they are dormant. It is also a good time to look at your vegetable garden. This is a good time to expand the garden or reorganize what you planted last year.
So, on the colder days, we can retreat indoors and forage through the seed catalogs and gardening web sites. This is the time to plan what vegetables you want to plant for the coming year. What has worked well and what new varieties do you want ti try in 2010? Some of the ‘new’ varieties may actually be vegetable plants that have been around for years and just forgotten until recently. They are the ‘Heirloom’ plants that offer more flavor and are interesting to grow because of their unusual colors. There are green tomatoes such as Aunt Ruby’s German Cherry and Emerald Green. The Rattlesnake pole beans are fun to grow because of their green pods with purple streaks.
Be adventurous and include these or other heirloom varieties in your garden this year. The results will surely make your garden the talk of the neighborhood. Not only will you have some fum new vegetables to try at dinner, they will make the meal look more interesting.
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