Wishing you a happy, healthy, and flower-filled New Year.
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Prescribing nature for improved health
December 17, 2018
An opinion piece by pediatrician Robert Zarr and TLN Founding Director Naomi Sachs was published yesterday in The Hill, titled “Prescribing nature for improved health makes an economic case for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.” Here are a couple of snippets, and you can read the full piece here.
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Happy Solstice!
December 21, 2015
Wishing you warmth, light, and peace from the Therapeutic Landscapes Network.
The Enabling Garden at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital
March 9, 2014
A lily pond and lush plantings make this garden an excellent place for rehab work.
Horticultural Therapy is, in a nutshell, the use of plants, gardens, and other aspects of nature to improve people’s social, spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being. Check out the HT page on the TLN website, and the organizations American Horticultural Therapy Association and the Horticultural Therapy Institute for more information. The new book, Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces also has a great chapter on HT, written by the inimitable Teresia Hazen at Legacy Health in Portland, OR.
A horticultural therapist works with a client
The HT program at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital is well-established and respected in the field. Thanks to Pam Young, the Horticultural Therapist there, for this description of their program, and for the accompanying photos.
A healthy dose of color on a grey Saturday afternoon
March 8, 2014
Many of us across the U.S., and other parts of the world as well, are pretty tired of winter by now. Even in Central Texas, it’s been colder than usual, for a longer period of time than usual. I still don’t quite get the way that people here cover their lovely but tender plants with pretty much anything that’s available – black plastic bags, old bedsheets, large pieces of cardboard… So yards that are quite attractive in the spring, fall, and summer end up looking like dead lawns strewn with trash. Oh, well.
I was going through some photos from a trip to Florida a few years ago and happened upon this one of a giant, fearless Hibiscus flower. It said, “Post me today.”
So here you are. Tomorrow morning (Sunday) at 2:00 am, we “spring forward” an hour for Daylight Savings time. Even if there’s still snow on the ground and cold wind is howling through the gaps, the days are lengthening, and spring is approaching. I promise.
Happy New Year!
December 31, 2013
At the thawing lake’s edge, jewels of ice linger on wildflower stalks. Photo by Naomi Sachs
Nature always holds mysteries. Sometimes they reveal themselves easily, taking us by delighted surprise. Sometimes we have to look a little harder. Sometimes we must simply thrill in the knowledge that they are there, like a secret, waiting to be discovered.
From all of us at the Therapeutic Landscapes Network, to each and every one of you, wishing you a healthy, joyous 2014!
Last post of 2012…
December 31, 2012
Photo by Henry Domke, www.henrydomke.com
Wishing you a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year!
Internet SOPA / PIPA Strike
January 18, 2012
If it’s good enough for Wikipedia…
We rarely get political here at the Therapeutic Landscapes Network, but since a huge part of our mission is to “provide information, free of charge, about gardens and landscapes that promote health and well-being,” this seems like a time to dive in to the fray. So, no TLN Blog post “exploring the connection between nature and health” today.
Instead, please visit the SOPA strike page (http://sopastrike.com/strike) and add your voice to the thousands of people, organizations, and businesses speaking out against the internet censorship bills, SOPA & PIPA. This page takes you straight to a petition, and this page and provides some good information, including who all is participating. Quite an impressive list.
Or just cut to the chase and Contact Congress now. Not in the U.S.? Petition the State Department.
Wikipedia has kindly left this page up for you to learn more about SOPA and PIPA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Learn_more. Here’s their synopsis of the 2 bills:
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SOPA and PIPA represent two bills in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate respectively. SOPA is short for the “Stop Online Piracy Act,” and PIPA is an acronym for the “Protect IP Act.” (“IP” stands for “intellectual property.”) In short, these bills are efforts to stop copyright infringement committed by foreign web sites, but, in our opinion, they do so in a way that actually infringes free expression while harming the Internet. Detailed information about these bills can be found in the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act articles on Wikipedia, which are available during the blackout.
Happy New Year from the Therapeutic Landscapes Network
December 31, 2010
Winter Sunset, Dennings Point, NY. Photo by Robert J. Rodriguez Jr.
Wishing you a New Year filled with health, prosperity and joy!