A recent study published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology1 compared the effects of self-paced walking through an outdoor green environment (GE), an indoor environment while viewing a video of the same outdoor green environment (VGE), and an indoor environment while facing a white wall…
It has been quiet in the greenhouse during the past month – because of the heat we stop running therapeutic horticulture (TH) programming in the summer. And although we miss our TH participants, the break allows us to get some much-needed greenhouse cleaning and organization done. Summer is also a…
The first five months of 2023 have been extremely eventful, with the peak activity taking place in April. Our Spring Plant Sale which occurred on April 14th and 15th was very successful including the online pre-sale component. This was all possible because of the army of dedicated volunteers who contributed…
A study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry in 20221 compared the effects of passively experiencing three urban settings on mood and the patterns of brain activity of healthy and clinically depressed participants. The settings were: A therapeutic garden. A green roof space with walking paths with lush…
Fig 1 There has been a great deal of activity at the Wilmot Botanical Gardens since the last quarterly newsletter in December of 2022. One construction project has been completed, a second is close to completion and two more are in the planning stages. Weather has also impacted the gardens…
To master the basics of successful clonal plant propagation, it’s necessary to understand the process of vegetative reproduction in plants. This information will be especially beneficial when discussing specific plant propagation techniques in future newsletter articles. Plant growth originates in localized regions called meristems (derived from the Greek word Meritos…
As spring goes into full bloom, all things are growing lush again. The oaks are finally done dropping old leaves, and new green is everywhere. Unfortunately, this also means weeds are seeing new life. Because it’s time to get your yard ready for the coming summer, we thought it a…
It is not unusual for someone to ask, after hearing what I do, how long horticultural therapy has been around. They are usually quite surprised to hear that is quite old as a treatment. But when you give it some thought, it’s not hard to imagine that people have found…
We are now entering one of the most beautiful times of the year at the Wilmot Botanical Gardens. The bloom of the sasanqua and hiemalis camellias is at its peak, while many of the early blooming japonica and reticulata camellias are beginning to show color. Don’t wait too long before…
For the past year and a half, I have been involved in the founding of the Florida Horticulture for Health Network (FLHHN). The mission of the network is to “support horticulture for health initiatives in Florida and beyond through networking, knowledge exchange, and capacity building. We believe that horticulture and nature…
