“When I first got there,
I was pretty broken. ...
Growing Grounds has helped me a lot.”
“We’re not just running a little plant store. We have a higher mission,” Story said. “The staff and I all feel great sat i sfact ion f rom the work we’re doing and the opportunities we’re providing for folks who need a little leg up.” Grayson, who’s been at Growing Grounds for two years, is now a crew leader teaching others. She graduated from a new program at TMHA called Breaking Barriers, a 12-week course that helps participants transition to outside employment. “I didn’t realize that I was that good at what I was doing, but they said I’m really good at it. And I’m good with people and how I talked to the clients. It made my self-esteem really good,” she said. Grayson looks back on her life now and all she’s been through. She said one of her sons encouraged her not to give up, so she decided to give Growing Grounds a chance for her children and grandchildren. “Gardening is really, really fun. It’s very therapeutic,” she said. “I’m able to have things I’d never had before, just working here. I met a lot of good people. I have friends now. It’s really good. It’s really, really good. My family’s proud of me.”
—SHERI GRAYSON Crew leader
Judy Farah cbmagazine@californiabountiful.com
Working with plants promotes emotional, mental and physical health and well-being, according to the American Horticultural Therapy Association. Horticultural therapy dates back to ancient times. During the Middle Ages, many hospitals and monasteries created beautiful gardens and courtyards for their patients. Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence recognized as the “Father of American Psychiatry,” published findings in 1812 that said patients who worked in gardens had better recovery rates frommania than those who had not. Horticultural therapy was expanded in the 1940s and ’50s to include injured World War II veterans at Veterans Administration hospitals, where physicians used on-site gardens specifically for rehabilitation therapies. The professional field of horticultural therapy began in 1973. Today, therapeutic gardening is also used in recovery and senior centers, public and private schools and correctional facilities. Most recently, nurses and doctors have used therapeutic gardens at hospitals as respites during the COVID-19 crisis. An ancient practice
Sources: American Horticultural Therapy Association, Rutgers University
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