If nature is a healing force, Sabryna-Joi King-Bell has felt its power.

It happened during a recent Chicago Botanic Garden horticultural therapy session that provided a soothing break from caring for her husband, a veteran.

Something as simple as potting a plant brought tears to her eyes.

 

“I’m so appreciative because this is such a safe space and I live a life of gratitude,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

“It’s so therapeutic and for me, it’s respite,” she added. “I relax, and then I’m recharged.”

Using the power of plants to captivate, teach, soothe, and nourish is the bedrock of the Garden’s Horticultural Therapy Services, said Laurie Dettmers, a horticultural therapist with Windy City Harvest, the Garden’s urban agriculture program.

That was evident on a recent July morning, as Dettmers guided caregivers and veterans at Edward Hines, Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital in Maywood through a session. They chatted with broad smiles as Dettmers helped them pot the tropical sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica), so named because its leaves fold up when you touch them, only to reopen a few minutes later.

They bonded with each other, quietly opening up—not unlike the plants they were working with.

“We all have something in common here. It makes the whole talking-to-people [experience] easier,” said Ashley Kristofer, a veteran participating in the Hines session.

The session at Hines offers a snapshot of what has been an important mission for the Garden since its beginnings in the 1970s. Horticultural therapy is a multifaceted discipline that uses plants to promote physical and emotional health as well as cognitive functions such as memory. In healthcare settings, it often entails working one-on-one with patients to support specific goals, such as improving dexterity or standing endurance. The Garden’s therapeutic horticultural programs, by contrast, are group-oriented, designed for an array of audiences and ages.

The main campus hosts on-site programming for a wide variety of groups. But the outreach programs from the Windy City Harvest campus on Chicago’s West Side fill a void for those unable to make the trek to the northern suburbs.

“At Windy City Harvest, we are reaching a lot of audiences who don’t have access to the Garden's main campus,” said Dominique Stevens, senior manager for health and wellness at Windy City Harvest. “We’re trying to bring nature and greenery and the beauty of the Garden to wherever they are.”

The Garden contracts with senior centers, veterans’ groups, hospitals, community centers, and similar organizations, to help people discover—or rediscover—their connection to the natural world.

For many participants it’s their first time potting a plant. Moreover, the high-quality plants provided by the Garden—from hanging begonias and amaryllis bulbs to an herbal container garden—set them up for success.

“It’s therapeutic, really, for any kind of group,” Dettmers said, adding that the benefits last far beyond her hour-long workshops. “People leave with a plant, giving them something to care for or give to a loved one.”

Conversations are encouraged, but not facilitated. Plus, the plants themselves inspire connections.

“It’s a very organic way for conversation to start flowing, and it’s a low-stress environment already, because you’re dealing with plants,” Stevens said. “The world that we live in has so many stimulants that constantly bombard us. When you’re with a plant, you can focus on the plant. You calm down. Your brain can relax. People are calmer. We definitely see that in our workshops.”

The plants participants take home tend to thrive under their care—a metaphor for the overarching goals of the program.

“To see and watch something grow and change,” Dettmers said, “well, you can make a lot of parallels to our own lives and the need to care for ourselves.”