Growing from the Roots Up – the Benefits of Horticultural Therapy

August 11th, 2020Briony LucasActivities & Ideas, Motor Skills, Nature & Outdoor Play, Play & Socialising

Through doing we become and through planting we can grow. Imagine yourself deeply immersed in the beauty of a garden, the warmth of sunlight on your skin and the fresh clean air. Now, imagine spending time in the wonders of nature whilst also achieving therapeutic goals. Welcome to the world of Horticultural or “Garden” Therapy!

Horticultural Therapy is the practice of using garden-based activities and the natural environment as a medium to achieve therapeutic goals. Horticultural Therapy is a therapeutic tool that can be used by Occupational Therapists and other allied-health professionals to target a broad range of client goals through a fun, diverse and engaging environment. Horticultural Therapy uses elements of the garden and the processes of gardening to provide therapeutic input to help with sensory and emotional regulation, developing social skills, providing meaningful engagement and occupation, building strength, developing fine and gross motor skills, and building self-confidence in a fun and supported environment. Due to the diverse nature of Horticultural Therapy it can be used for a broad range of clients, with particular benefits highlighted for people living with disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), sensory processing disorder, speech and language difficulties, intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities.

The benefits for sensory and emotional regulation:

Gardens are an innately sensory-based space, with the smells, colours, textures, sounds and movements they encourage igniting our senses. Despite all the sensory stimulation offered by gardens, they are typically experienced to be calming and regulating spaces. Horticultural Therapy and the use of sensory gardens can be used as a medium for supporting sensory stimulation, integration and regulation through providing supportive and highly interactive natural environments to encourage sensory play and exploration for children and adolescents. Horticultural Therapy and sensory gardens are also particularly beneficial in providing physical spaces for children to retreat to when they require space for solitary regulation and calming, with the calming sensory features of these retreats further supporting the self-regulation process.

Growing social connections and self-confidence:

Horticultural Therapy group programs offer opportunities for participants to develop their physical skills along-side their social skills and self-confidence. Horticultural Therapy group programs are targeted to the needs and goals of the participants, and encourage a sense of teamwork, pride, and social connection. Gardening tasks and activities provide shared experiences for participants, as well as facilitating both group and personal achievements and success that can physically be seen, touched, and reflected on by participants their therapists and their support networks. Research has found that these successes foster a sense of pride, achievement, togetherness and provide opportunities to develop friendships all supporting self-confidence, enjoyment, and positive experiences amongst participants.

What to do next:

Get out in the garden and give it a go! Many of these benefits of Horticultural Therapy can be achieved within our own backyards. If you don’t have a garden, try visiting a public garden near you and allow yourself and your child to interact with and explore the wonders of the garden.

Try growing your own vegetables or flowers. Watching something grow can provide hours of fun, and you might even find it helps tricky eaters trying new foods they have grown themselves. See these links for helpful tips to get you started:

Kid Spot Story

My Smart Garden - Veggie Garden for Begginers

Ask your OT, school or support services about using the benefits of the garden and outdoor environment to support your child’s learning and development. This can be as simple as structuring in breaks in the school day to spend time to explore the garden to support regulation within the school environment.

Home garden activities to try:

Growing quick crops such as radishes or lettuce can be a great way to get started and see results within 4-6 weeks. These vegetables are rather forgiving and typically can produce good results for the inexperienced or young gardeners, resulting in that additional benefit of feelings of success and self-confidence.
Growing fruits, vegetables or herbs that are popular within your family is a great way to spark interest and motivation for children, with the result being a tasty treat grown within your own garden.
Development of gross-motor skills as well as self-regulation trough deep-pressure and proprioceptive input can be provided through activities such as digging and carrying soil (for example for planting), carrying and using a watering can, pulling out weeds and raking leaves.
Fine motor skills can be encouraged through picking vegetables, herbs, leaves or flowers with scissors or secateurs, or picking softer stemmed flowers or leaves using your thumb and index finger in a pincer grip.
Creating a calming or sensory stimulating space in the garden can be achieved with use of targeted plants, such as lamb’s ears for soft tactile (touch) input, rosemary and lavender to stimulate sense of smell, long-grasses that blow in the wind or bright coloured flowers to stimulate visual input, and edible plants such as mint, basil or strawberries to stimulate taste. If your aim is to create a calming space, consider creating somewhere to sit or a ‘hidey-hole’ to tuck yourself away in, in addition to choosing plants that suit your own sensory preferences, for example, choosing plants with smells and colours that you or your child prefer.

Horticultural Therapy is an exciting and growing field that is encouraging people to get back to nature, get involved and get their hands (or gardening gloves) dirty! Horticultural Therapy can be used to support a variety of clients within a fun, engaging and creative medium to support progress and growth towards their therapeutic goals.

References

Barakat, H. A, Bakr, A and El-Sayad, Z 2019, ‘Nature as a healer for autistic children’, Alexandria Engineering Journal, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 353-366.

Beela, G. K., et al. 2015, ‘Horticulture Therapy for the Improvement of Self Concept in Adolescents with Locomotor and Hearing Impairment’, Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 57.

Ferwerda-van Zonneveld, R. T., et al. 2012, ‘Care farms as a short-break service for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders’, NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 35-40.

Hussein, H 2010, ‘Using the sensory garden as a tool to enhance the educational development and social interaction of children with special needs’, Support for Learning, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 25-31.

Hussein, H 2017, ‘Sensory affordances in outdoor play environment towards well-being of special schooled children’, Intelligent Buildings International, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 148-163.

Kim, B., et al. 2012, ‘Horticultural therapy program for the improvement of attention and sociality in children with intellectual disabilities’, HortTechnology, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 320-324.

Riaz, A., et al. 2012, ‘Impact of gardening activities on special children: A case study’, Acta Horticulturae, vol. 954, no. 1, pp. 67-76.