What is Horticultural Therapy and how can it help ex-servicemen and women?

‘Horticultural therapy is the use of plants by a trained professional as a medium through which certain clinically defined goals may be met.’

‘Therapeutic horticulture is the process by which individuals may develop well-being using plants and horticulture.  This is achieved through active or passive involvement.’
Journal of Social & Therapeutic Horticulture, 1999.

Gardening Leave projects will bring ex-Servicemen and women together.  Many of them will have been living as civilians for some time when they first visit the garden.  The garden is intended to provide structure, routine and exercise – all embedded in military life and often sadly lacking in civilian life, which can lead to feelings of isolation and a sense of lack of control over one’s life.

Using the ethos of horticultural therapy, veterans with mental health troubles who attend Gardening Leave projects will benefit by improving their social skills by engaging in conversation; their motivational skills such as punctuality and their personal skills such as appearance, health and fitness.

Why Walled Gardens?

There is something about walled gardens which makes the space inside them different.  It can be the area in which they are situated, usually at a distance from the large house whose inhabitants the produce grown there was intended to feed; it can be the sense of privacy and sanctuary engendered by knowing that one is surrounded on all four sides by a wall, beyond which is the ‘outside world’ or it can be the sense of history one feels having ‘crossed the line’ and walked into a world of peace, order, and the never-ending cycle which is cultivation throughout the seasons.

Research shows that in order for healing to begin, a person must be relaxed.  Having a ‘clear view’ for  Servicemen and women who nowadays fight not just on battlefields, but also on housing estates is becoming more, and more important and walled gardens can provide this.