Page 9 - Nourish.pdf

“I think there is potential for utilizing a horticultural therapist like an activities director.”
– Franco Diamond, Administrator
Leigh Ann Starling, Horticulture Therapist, relishes bringing
the healing power of plants to Idylwood Care Center in Sunnyvale, CA.“Plants can survive without people, but people can’t survive without plants,” she says. “There
is a relationship on an unconscious level that goes back to the beginning.”
There are many practical therapeutic bene ts of gardening for nursing home residents:
• Self-esteem and sense
of ownership derive from nurturing a living thing and doing so successfully – opportunities seldom available to those mostly on the receiving end of care.
• Cognitive skills like problem-solving and eye- hand coordination are put to use.
• Memories are aroused as residents reminisce about gardens where they grew up or lived as adults.
• Physical exertion vents
pent-up energy that may
otherwise lead to anxiety, depression or behavioral outbursts.
• Social, communication and teamwork skills are exercised by residents in group gardening activities like those offered at Idylwood.
Gardening is often more meaningful for residents than the usual planned activities in a nursing home, and a horticulture therapist is a key for fully involving them in growing a robust garden, says Franco Diamond, Administrator. “In fact, I think there is potential for utilizing a horticultural therapist like you would an activities director,” he says.
About 40 groups, each with 15-20 residents, meet weekly for combined gardening and cooking activities at
to ex their muscles by working on recycling projects or building planter boxes and compost bins. They also can assert their independence more easily in the garden than in the building, says the therapist.
Recently, residents young and old came together in a group problem- solving process around constructing raised beds. “They feel really good when they nish building a raised bed, ll it with soil and plant it... there is a lot of self-esteem and
con dence,” says Starling.
Residents prone to “act out” are less likely to do
so when gardening: “They assume a greater sense of responsibility and maturity when taking care of another living thing,” she adds.
The garden attracts not just residents and staff, but also draws a growing number of visitors to Idylwood. Family members come more often now to stroll in the garden with their loved ones. “Over the summer they were actually measuring the corn stalks to see how much they grew during the night,” says Diamond.
He wants “all the life and great things going on” to be the rst impression visitors have of Idylwood. “We’re trying to get to the point where people say,
‘Oh, let’s go visit the garden at Idylwood...and by the way, it also happens to be a nursing home.’
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Idylwood. Most of the elders grew up with gardens, says Starling.
“They come out and talk to me all the time...I get a lot of old facts and wisdom on ways of growing different plants.”
Younger, more able-bodied residents are drawn to the garden for a chance