Enabled Gardening: An Introduction
The History of Enabled Gardening
Dr. Benjamin Rush, psychiatric researcher and signer of the Declaration of Independence, was one of the first people to document the therapeutic effects of gardening. Dr. Rush believed that in order to thrive, a person must remain active and productive. He found that people who stayed busy with gardening and other endeavors were less likely to seek medical treatment.
Horticulture therapy gained more acceptance in the early and mid twentieth century, when military hospitals offered gardening as a form of occupational therapy during World Wars I and II. To make the gardens more accessible to injured veterans, medical staff adapted traditional tools and techniques, creating the concept of enabled gardening.
An enabled garden is any landscape, garden, patio or greenhouse space designed around the needs of someone who is physically, developmentally, or psychologically unable to tend to a traditional garden. Enabled gardening allows more people to enjoy the benefits of working with plants. These gardens may include wide walkways to accommodate wheelchairs, gardening tools wrapped with padding to aid arthritic fingers, and plants with bright foliage to help visually impaired gardeners.
New equipment, methods and plant varieties mean that people of all ages and abilities can become, or continue to be, gardeners. Today, enabled gardens can be found in community centers, hospitals, nursing facilities, teaching institutions and private homes.
The Benefits of Gardening
For some people gardening is a creative outlet. From the layout, to the color choices, to displaying the final product, gardening can be an ongoing design process. The beautifully maintained garden facing a sidewalk or road is both a labor of love and a public work of art.
Gardening can also be an effective form of exercise. Digging, bending, pulling and stretching all help develop large muscle groups. Picking up individual seeds, plucking spent flower heads and twisting off vegetables help enhance fine motor skills.
Even a small vegetable garden can yield fresh produce throughout the summer and into the fall. More ambitious gardeners can grow and preserve enough tomatoes, beans, peppers and other produce to last through the year. For families desiring preservative-free or organic vegetables, growing their own is an economical choice.
Who Can Benefit from Enabled Gardening?
Anyone who has trouble working in a traditional garden can benefit from an enabling garden. Raised beds can keep the gardener with the bad back from having to stoop. Wide paths fitted with handrails can open the site to gardeners in wheelchairs.
People who lack strength or finger flexibility can use modified or “easy grip” tools. Container gardens can be created in a range of sizes to bring the benefits to those who cannot go outside. Magnifying glasses and textured storage boxes can help visually impaired gardeners differentiate seeds and materials.
With research, creativity and an eye toward safety, a garden can be designed to accommodate many ages and abilities. Whether you are an avid gardener or a beginner, whether you are interested in creating a beautiful floral show or a bountiful vegetable harvest, enabled gardening techniques can help you enjoy your garden to the fullest.