Horticulture: gardening and plant care as therapy for health

To whom we write in JardineriaOn We like to sink our fingers into the earth and enjoy the relaxing sensation caused by the aroma of wet earth, pine needles and flowering buds. The gardening is therapeutic and that is why various activities are carried out around it, being the Horticultural Therapy one of the most popular these days.

Horticultural Therapy is nothing other than the care of plants and flowers but for therapeutic purposes to accompany patients with different diseases.

Knowing Horticultural Therapy

Horticultural Therapy is also known as Horticultural Therapy and it is a practice that delves into plants and their care in order to help people suffering from psychiatric disorders as well as disabled people, the elderly and children. It is a therapy that takes advantage of the benefits of nature but always with the aim of achieving improvements in people.

Thus, the caring for plants, trees, flowers and shrubs gives the opportunity to put into play a series of abilities and skills that help patients in their conditions, both in the motor aspect and in the psychosocial aspect.

As has been found, gardening and contact with nature have de-stressing effects and that is why it is common to feel a certain serenity when we are in the garden taking care of our plants. However, in the case of patients with different problems, gardening becomes a bridge that allows improve mental skills, increase memory level, perform better in manual tasks or gain independence. For this reason, in several countries of the world there are Horticultural Therapy Associations that delve into the benefits of plant care in people's health.

Horticulture and autism

Both garden and orchard activities are ideal for people with physical and mental disorders as the constant growth and development of the plant kingdom helps people stimulate their senses. That is why gardening and horticulture have been used for therapeutic purposes for many years in countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The American Association for Horticultural Therapy was founded in 1973, while in many of these countries horticulture is part of the Social Health Sciences.

The case of autistic children is a great example of how horticultural therapy stimulates your senses. The children prepare the land, then plant the plants and vegetables, take care of the development and maintain the gardens and orchards taking advantage of these different stages to incorporate notions about arithmetic, improving their social skills and their literacy while helping them to make friends and express themselves .

They say that nature is wise and that is why contact with the earth and life in the open air has great potential for all human beings. Why not take advantage of it then.