Tag: horticultural therapy


Gardens engage the mind, muscles, and hope

Planting a seed engages the mind. Working the soil engages the muscles in our hands. Watching new life grow engages our hope. Gardening is perhaps one of the oldest and most common ways we interact with nature everyday, and there is increasing awareness among scientists of the potential health benefits derived from gardening activities. A…

Horticultural Therapy and the Greeks

Haec fuere numinum templa, priscoque ritu simplicia rura etiam nunc deo praecellentem arborem dicant; nec magis auro fulgentia atque ebore simulacra quam lucos et in iis silentia ipsa adoramus…- Pliny the Elder A translation of this latin quote reveals the early Greek belief and use of natural areas for healing. “The trees formed the first temples…

An Enabling Garden: An interview with Alicia Green of Chicago’s Botanic Garden

As you enter the Buehler Enabling Garden, you will delight in how enveloped and comfortable you feel. It is nestled on one of Chicago Botanic Garden’s nine interconnected islands totaling 385 acres and six miles of lake shoreline. The Enabling Garden itself consists of three interconnecting outside “rooms” enclosed by lattice walls and interlaced with flowers, vegetables and…

A Sense of Surround, in person and virtually

In our Open Voices blog we share insight from leaders in our communities who are advancing what it means to have sacred, open green spaces in our cities. As you enter the Buehler Enabling Garden, you will delight in how enveloped and comfortable you feel. It is nestled on one of Chicago Botanic Garden’s nine interconnected…

Connecting and Coping: An Interview with Teresia Hazen

In our blog, we share insight from leaders in our communities who are advancing what it means to have sacred, open green spaces in our cities. This month we take a moment to examine the real, lived experience of an open, sacred green space. This week we talked with Teresia Hazen, MEd, HTR, GMHP, Coordinator of…

"Today I became someone different. I made something very special come alive. A place where we could sit, think, get outside and get our minds together."

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