I have done a few gardens over the decades for the disable community. This summer I was involved with the roof top garden for disabled veterans at the VA Center in Decatur, GA. I also worked at Enable for adults with developmental disabilities and Christian City in Union City.
The concept of horticulture therapy is: to heal the land and let it heals us. This applies to all land use, farming gardening, etc. Connecting with the soil is a way of connecting with a part of ourselves, where we come from and where we are going back to. Nature enhances our lives. Working in a garden you find your place in nature. It is centering and allows us to put our life in perspective. While in this relaxed state I can get people to talk and share about their wonderful life or not so wonderful. As they open up they become full of the life around them. plants communicate with us on subtle levels. There is also a feeling of accomplishment when people see things grow that they planted. A garden simplifies our life. The cycle's of nature in the garden operate at a slower rhythm yet on a continuum of life. It offers insight on how the world operates in balance.
At the VA center in Decatur, GA I worked with a quadruple amputee, Von Heinze, a Viet Nam vet. I thought, if he can garden anybody can. This is a rooftop garden of containers. Enable is a day center for adults that are developmentally disabled in Red Oak, GA. These are not productive gardens, nor are they focused on aesthetics. These are fun gardens. It is important to remember, that if you grow for food or you grow for your lively hood, are you having fun? This reminds me that when I am out driving around in urban cities I feel very disconnected from everything. When I am working in the garden I am in a centered, more sane environment that makes more sense to me. I also spent time at a community garden at Christian City in Union City, GA. This is a retirement community. They have boxes off the ground for wheel chair access.
With ambulatory people we dig a bed in the ground. I do not need lumber for boxes on the ground. I also do not buy soil, compost or plastic. The role being a gardener is that of a producer not a consumer. The boxes in the barrier free gardens are of recycled materials. The compost comes from my farm or I use very old rotted manure from a horse stable for soil. It is difficult to get people to think outside the box. I either contribute my seeds or get seed donations. The mind set of being a consumer in all our activities runs deep. Regenerating a piece of land offers many rewards that are described in my book, Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming. Sharing this fits into the concept of; the gift is in the giving. Thanks to these groups for allowing me to contribute to their programs.
I needed container varieties of vegetables which I do not grow on the farm. So thank you Vincent and the Home Depot on Ponce de Leon for your donation of plants and seeds to REAP.
The concept of horticulture therapy is: to heal the land and let it heals us. This applies to all land use, farming gardening, etc. Connecting with the soil is a way of connecting with a part of ourselves, where we come from and where we are going back to. Nature enhances our lives. Working in a garden you find your place in nature. It is centering and allows us to put our life in perspective. While in this relaxed state I can get people to talk and share about their wonderful life or not so wonderful. As they open up they become full of the life around them. plants communicate with us on subtle levels. There is also a feeling of accomplishment when people see things grow that they planted. A garden simplifies our life. The cycle's of nature in the garden operate at a slower rhythm yet on a continuum of life. It offers insight on how the world operates in balance.
At the VA center in Decatur, GA I worked with a quadruple amputee, Von Heinze, a Viet Nam vet. I thought, if he can garden anybody can. This is a rooftop garden of containers. Enable is a day center for adults that are developmentally disabled in Red Oak, GA. These are not productive gardens, nor are they focused on aesthetics. These are fun gardens. It is important to remember, that if you grow for food or you grow for your lively hood, are you having fun? This reminds me that when I am out driving around in urban cities I feel very disconnected from everything. When I am working in the garden I am in a centered, more sane environment that makes more sense to me. I also spent time at a community garden at Christian City in Union City, GA. This is a retirement community. They have boxes off the ground for wheel chair access.
With ambulatory people we dig a bed in the ground. I do not need lumber for boxes on the ground. I also do not buy soil, compost or plastic. The role being a gardener is that of a producer not a consumer. The boxes in the barrier free gardens are of recycled materials. The compost comes from my farm or I use very old rotted manure from a horse stable for soil. It is difficult to get people to think outside the box. I either contribute my seeds or get seed donations. The mind set of being a consumer in all our activities runs deep. Regenerating a piece of land offers many rewards that are described in my book, Radical Regenerative Gardening and Farming. Sharing this fits into the concept of; the gift is in the giving. Thanks to these groups for allowing me to contribute to their programs.
Below is John watering the beds he helped plant. 
I needed container varieties of vegetables which I do not grow on the farm. So thank you Vincent and the Home Depot on Ponce de Leon for your donation of plants and seeds to REAP.
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