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FLINT RIDGE FARMS
Mother Nature's Designs with People in Mind
Empowering persons of special
populations to meet their personal goals by working with plants
and through plant-related activities.
Specializing in Horticultural Therapy
I meet people all the time
who ask me what Horticultural Therapy is. It's not easy wrapping it up into
one definition.
I try to give them a quick and dirty (pun intended) definition which explains that it is a way of healing through horticulturally-related activities.
No, it isn't taking medicinal herbs. You may benefit by doing so, but that is not the main purpose of HT.
Yes, I joke that, I need a little Horticultural Therapy and subsequently walk out to the garden to plant, weed, etc. That's kind of it, but Horticultural Therapy is a professional discipline which incorporates Horticultural and horticulturally-related activities and addresses specific needs. the needs are usually those of unique or special populations, such as institutionalized elderly, mentally retarded and/or developmentally disabled adults and children, mentally ill, and prisoners. Other populations who may benefit from these programs are: at-risk youth. HT is popular in community gardens also. In community gardens, many different groups of people can work together or separately to address their goals.
I try to give them a quick and dirty (pun intended) definition which explains that it is a way of healing through horticulturally-related activities.
No, it isn't taking medicinal herbs. You may benefit by doing so, but that is not the main purpose of HT.
Yes, I joke that, I need a little Horticultural Therapy and subsequently walk out to the garden to plant, weed, etc. That's kind of it, but Horticultural Therapy is a professional discipline which incorporates Horticultural and horticulturally-related activities and addresses specific needs. the needs are usually those of unique or special populations, such as institutionalized elderly, mentally retarded and/or developmentally disabled adults and children, mentally ill, and prisoners. Other populations who may benefit from these programs are: at-risk youth. HT is popular in community gardens also. In community gardens, many different groups of people can work together or separately to address their goals.
I know we have many
modalities to choose from. I am a believer in Music Therapy, Art Therapy,
and of course, Pet Therapy. Horticultural Therapy works in similar ways.
One of the unique aspects
of HT is that one of the benefits is giving people hope and something to
look forward to when utilizing planting, propagating, etc. Clients want to
see the plants grow. They often feel a sense of purpose when a plant depends
on their nurturing to survive. Depression is alleviated when a tiny seed
bursts forth into leaves, or when the flower is in bloom, or that scrawny
little tomato plant becomes a huge, fruit-bearing bush.
Of course, crafting using
herbs and plants is another aspect of HT. Using herbs for culinary delight
is another offshoot. Herbs are only part of the whole picture, though.
You might relate
Horticultural Therapy to herbs in this manner: Algebra is Math, Calculus is
Math, and Geometry is Math. Math is not necessarily Algebra, Calculus, or
Geometry. It can also be Trigonometry! Horticultural Therapy is herbs,
propagating plants, planting seeds, flower arranging, and many other
plant-related activities. It is not necessarily one or the other. It
includes so many horticultural activities!
“When I go out into my garden with a spade, and dig a bed, I feel such an exhilaration and health that I discover that I have been defrauding myself all this time in letting others do for me what I should have done with my own hands.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Flint Ridge Farms
5665W 500N
Huntington, IN 46750
(260)356-3959
email
Design and Hosting by The Herbal Connection