From Greece to Gainesville: The Hippocratic Tree at Shands UFCaroline H. Crist, Sustainability InternWilmot Botanical Gardens The father of medicine, Hippocrates, is believed to have first taught medical students under a plane tree (Platanus orientalis), commonly referred to in the United States as…
Many research studies have well documented the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health worldwide, particularly regarding assessments of stress, anxiety, and depression. In the spring of 2020, as the coronavirus spread across the world and the United States, stay-at-home mandates were imposed, and people became sequestered, isolated,…
Most higher plants have the capacity to reproduce sexually leading to seed formation resulting in production of genetically different offspring. Plants also have the capacity to reproduce vegetatively resulting in plants having the same genetic composition (clones). Horticulturally, vegetative propagation allows for the efficient cloning of plants while retaining…
Since you received our last quarterly newsletter in early March of this year, there has been a great deal of activity at the Wilmot Botanical Gardens. I would like to share some of the highlights from those past three months. I am pleased to announce that in late March the…
The therapeutic benefits of gardening on cognition have been suggested in several studies across a range of populations including the elderly and those displaying cognitive impairments.
One of the reasons I love living in Florida is that I can garden and take walks outside year-round. There are many other states whose residents can benefit from nature and sunshine year-round; in fact, it’s been reported that only 1% of those living in Florida suffer from seasonal affective…
A key to the successful operation of the Wilmot Botanical Gardens is the conduct of routine maintenance including chores such as mowing, weeding, trimming or replacing dead plants and shrubs and keeping our irrigation system in operation. Occasionally, larger projects requiring a totally different skill set present themselves. One such…
Allison and I had the pleasure of working with a trio of interns from the Active Learning Program (ALP) this fall semester. The ALP is a program for undergraduate students at UF that pairs them with UF faculty and staff or local organizations. The goals of the program…
As 2021 draws to a close it seems only fitting to provide a brief review of some of the more significant events that have occurred at the gardens since last January. Some were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and, regrettably, uncertainties regarding the future still remain. One might characterize the…
The therapeutic benefits of gardening on cognition have been suggested in several studies across a range of populations including the elderly and those displaying cognitive impairments.
