Health Care Fine Art

Bloedel Reserve - a Healing Garden

Bench along a path at Bloedel Reserve

This morning I found the perfect healing garden: the Bloedel Reserve. I spent a few hours on the grounds walking the soft bark-covered trails. It was magical and I felt that if ever there were a healing garden, this is it; I felt at peace.

I'm not the only one who thinks that. While I was at the visitor center I bumped into Sally Schauman, FASLA. She was doing research for a talk she is going to give tomorrow night called "Healing in Nature". She told me that Prentice Bloedel (the founder) created a healing garden before people ever talked about such things.

I wish I could hear Sally's talk but unfortunately we are flying back to Missouri in the morning. Perhaps I can get the text of the speech to share on this blog.

The person who has implemented the vision of Mr. Bloedel is Richard Brown. Dick is the Executive Director of the Reserve and has managed it for more than two decades. Recently when accepting the 2008 Award for Garden Excellence, Dick said:

It is a place, unlike most public gardens, that minimizes its messages to its visitors. Rather, it provides a high-quality environment within which the visitors are given ample opportunity to receive messages from nature.

That message came through loud and clear today!

Note: FASLA means Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects

What's New with Healing Gardens ?

Kay's Garden, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Design and photo by Naomi Sachs

As director of the Therapeutic Landscapes Resource Center Naomi Sachs follows developments with Healing Gardens. Recently she answered a few questions:

What are some new trends you see with Landscape Gardening used in HealthCare?

The key trend is an acceptance that Healing Landscapes make financial sense. Hospital Administrators understand that to creating special gardens for patients and also staff helps the bottom line.

Hospital Administrators can see that creating a holistic healing environment is what their clients want. Many people have a sense that strict Western Medicine just isn’t cutting it; not by itself. Complimentary approaches are gaining wide acceptance.

Interestingly, a novel, but strong selling points for healing gardens is that they help hospitals attract and keep nurses. There is a serious nursing shortage in North America. Roger Ulrich has reported on studies showing reduced staff turnover in hospitals with healing gardens.

It is important to understand that Healing Gardens are not just for the patients, but also for visitors and staff. They can provide someplace to go; a refuge. This can help reduce stress by allowing an escape from the clinical environment.

What percent of hospitals in North America have true Healing Gardens (as opposed to conventional landscaping)?

The numbers are clearly growing; most hospitals are looking at adding them. My best guess is that between 5 and 10% of hospitals currently have bonafide Healing Gardens. 

This is an exciting and rapidly growing field. At this time there is no National organization for Healing Gardens and no formal certification process; but I expect that to change soon.

What is happening in countries outside of North America with Healing Gardens?

I’m aware of projects in England, Sweden and Germany. Clearly there is a global reach to this movement. My best sense is that simply because of our size, that America is where most activity is at the moment.

Is there any new Evidence-based Design Research on Healing Gardens that you can tell us about?

New evidence-based design is coming out every week - I can't even keep up! While I try to list key articles on my website and blog, some other great resources for information are:

1. The ASLA Therapeutic Landscapes Research Initiative - a compendium of current research on the health benefits of therapeutic landscapes. They also have a blog: http://therapeuticlandscapes.blogspot.com/.
2. InformeDesign
3. Research Design Connections
4. EDRA - the Environmental Design Research Association
5. HERD Journal

Naomi Sachs, ASLA is the Founder and Executive Director of the Therapeutic Landscapes Resource Center. She is also the Principal at Naomi Sachs Design (design and consulting for therapeutic landscapes) based in Beacon, NY

The Desert Botanical Garden

Baja Fairy Duster (Calliandra californica)_1416

While I've been in Phoenix this week I've had three extended visits to the Desert Botanical Garden. I would go again if I had more time. It is that good.

Every time I am in Phoenix I make it a point to stop by to take pictures. They have a one of the world’s finest collections of desert plants on their 50-acres site. Because of the higher-than-normal winter rains the number of flowering plants is particularly rich right now.

It is very easy to get around on their meandering paved trails; they are even handicapped accessible. It is easy to forget that you are in the middle of the 5th largest city in the US.

To learn more about the Desert Botanical Garden visit their website: www.dbg.org

I Believe in Gardens

Palm Trees in the Arizona Center Garden

I had an experience today that convinced me of the power of gardens. I was taking a sunrise walk in Downtown Phoenix. There were tall glass buildings, construction equipment, traffic and congestion all around. I could feel my neck muscles tighten up.

Then I walked down into the garden at the Arizona Center. There was an elongated pond with running water at the bottom. There were plants everywhere. I even spotted a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Because it was a recessed garden, the street noises were muffled. They had hidden speakers playing Bach. Above it all were the palm trees (shown above) offering shade from the intense sunlight.

This is a true urban oasis. As I sat on one of the wooden benches I could feel my muscles relax. Bravo to whoever designed it and thank you to whoever paid for this space. It is a masterpiece.