HEALING_GARDEN_DESIGN_METHOD.docVIP

Healing Gardens Background: Throughout history gardens have been used to aid in the healing process - from the Japanese Zen Garden to the Monastic Cloister garden. However, with the advances in medical technology in the 20th century, the use of gardens as healing elements began to diminish. Fortunately with the recent interest in complementary and alternative therapies, which emphasizes healing the whole person -- mind, body, and spirit -- rather than simply alleviating symptoms, the interest in garden as healer has been revived. Royonaji Meditation Gardens ? Meryl Meisler 2001. Cloister Garden of Lincoln Cathedral. (Photo courtesy of Marys Gardens) Research has been done showing the therapeutic benefits of gardens. Roger Ulrich, a professor and director of the Center for Health Systems and Design at Texas A M University, found that viewing natural scenes or elements fosters stress recovery by evoking positive feelings, reducing negative emotions, effectively holding attention / interest, and blocking or reducing stressful thoughts. When viewing vegetation as opposed to urban scenes, test subjects exhibited lower alpha rates which are associated with being wakefully relaxed. Further research by Ulrich showed surgical patients with views of nature had shorter post-operative stays, fewer negative comments from nurses, took less pain medication and experienced fewer minor post-operative complications than those with a view of a brick wall. Although more research is necessary, results based on research thus far indicate the healing effects of natural elements such as gardens. What is a healing garden? Based on research by Ulrich and others, it could be argued that any garden is a healing garden. However, for the purposes of this article, we refer to Eckerlings definition of a healing garden: a garden in a healing setting designed to make people feel better (Eckerling, 1996). The goal of a healing garden is to make people feel safe, less stressed, more comforta