Fig. 1 – BJ and Eve Wilder Therapeutic Garden Fig. 2 – Betty and Delton Price Horticultural Education Complex with plaque and Fig. 3 – Josh Chase Memorial Garden Shed with plaque Fig. 4 – Antique, cast-iron water pump Fig. 5 – Camellia Vietnamese (white flower) and Fig. 6 –…
The continuously growing body of experimental evidence that experiencing nature, being in the company of plants, natural light, and engaging in horticultural activities provides therapeutic and well-being benefits is unquestionable. While there has been an abundance of research on the benefits of being in natural environments and/or engaging in people-plant…
Greetings and welcome to our winter newsletter. There is a famous saying “as one door closes, another opens”, but here at Wilmot Botanical Gardens I like to say, “as one flower falls, another opens”. This adage is being proven every day here in the garden. We also have much to…
In the June 20th, 2025, edition of the garden’s Newsletter1, I wrote about a compelling systematic review and meta-analysis out of the United Kingdom by Wood, Barton, and Wicks2 of 11 social and therapeutic horticulture studies that together quantitatively showed large and statistically significant treatment group effect size differences relative…
There are many telltale signs that fall has finally arrived in Gainesville. The students have returned to campus, the football season is well underway and most mornings are not quite as hot and humid. For those of us who love camellias another obvious sign of the return of fall is…
Greetings all, and welcome to this issue of The Wilmot Botanical Gardens newsletter. I begin with a broad statement: There is always something to look forward to. If a lifetime of being involved with horticulture and gardens has taught me anything, it is this. We are all looking forward to…
For this issue, I have asked Mark Jakubowycz and Cameron McMullen, who are both horticultural therapy interns with us this fall, to tell you a bit about themselves. They are both finishing the Certificate in Horticultural Therapy at UF and bring a lot of creativity, energy, and community-building strength to…
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s NHANES report dated April 16, 2025, revealed that the prevalence of depression in the U.S. has increased by 60% over the past decade. Similarly, the 2024 American Psychiatric Association’s annual mental health poll found that 43% of adults felt more anxious than…
I was near the Japanese Maple Garden picking the Spanish moss from a podocarpus (Podocarpus macrophyllus) recently when a couple of ladies stopped to talk. One of them said, “He’s cleaning the moss off the tree?!” I laughed and told them I was indeed and that it was relaxing to…
For this issue, I have asked Sam Kaplan, one of our horticultural therapy interns and volunteer extraordinaire, to share his experiences at the Garden. Sam has given so much to the therapeutic horticulture program – not just his time, commitment, and energy, but also his extensive plant knowledge and positive,…
