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Gardening for Health

Nature's healing power.

By Judith Dancoff
WebMD Feature

Oct. 30, 2000 -- First thing every morning, Gene Gach checks the 50 or so pots of bromeliads that he keeps along one side of his house. Then he simply stands and enjoys the backyard of his modest Los Angeles home -- the wide, green lawn, the 25-foot stand of Chinese bamboo he grew from a single stalk, and many flowers and rose bushes. On most days a cluster of birds surrounds his bird feeder, along with a small rabbit, whom he is teaching to eat lettuce. Later, Gach will play an 18-hole round of golf, lunch with his wife, and then garden for up to two hours.

He loves gardening. "Days like this leave me with an incredible sense of peace and serenity," says Gach. "When I stand in my garden I can feel the seeds under the earth, everything growing, and I have a connection to all of life."

Gach, who retired seven years ago from a career as a press agent and fund raiser, may sound like an ex-hippie just turning 55, but he's not. He is 87 years old, shows no sign of quitting anytime soon, and just wrote his autobiography. "The doctor who gave me a recent cardiac stress test couldn't believe it," says Gach. "'You're twice my age,' he told me, 'and your blood pressure is lower on the treadmill than mine is sitting down.'"

Why is Gach so spry? While it's impossible to pin down with certainty the secret of his longevity and health, some doctors would say that his environment -- specifically his connection with nature -- plays a large part. Nature holds the key to health, believes Harvard naturalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Edward O. Wilson, who coined the term biophilia (love of living things). He believes that we have an affinity for nature because we are part of nature and would prefer to look at flowers and grass rather than concrete or steel. As part of the natural world, we are connected to and restored by it.

These restorative benefits of nature, some experts now believe, can lower blood pressure, boost immune function, and reduce stress. And to reap these benefits, you don't have to live in a mansion with a gardener. All that's required is a love of flowers and a willingness to plant a few herbs or even to hang a beautiful poster depicting nature on your wall.

The Proven Power of Nature






How Nature Works Its Charms


There are other benefits to being in nature as well, including exercise, exposure to vitamin D from sunshine, and the capacity of light to counter seasonal depression. And for people in restricted environments or with chronic conditions, the payoffs may even be greater, says Richard Zeisel, president of Hearthstone Alzheimer Care in Lexington, Mass., a company that manages living-treatment residences for people with Alzheimer's disease. "You can either upset people and then give them drugs to relax them, or you can not upset them in the first place."

Hearthstone's approach, in which gardens are an integral part of the residences, dramatically decreases anxiety, agitation, aggression, and social withdrawal among patients, and thus the need for antipsychotic drugs. "It's a practical question: would we rather spend money on drugs, or would we rather spend money on flowers?" Zeisel says.

Nature, the Do-It-Yourself Way

Even seniors whose environments do not include attractive views or actual gardens can get close to nature, says Teresa Hazan, a horticultural therapist at Legacy Health System in Portland, Ore., which provides therapy for patients at local hospitals.

She recommends that senior residences set up outdoor gardens, accessible to all. Three to five large clay pots are enough: one for favorite herbs, one for a shrub or tree, another for flowers or vegetables. A plant in anyone's room can also be healing, she says. When you become dependent on others and have less control over your life, says Hazan, it's very restorative to have something that's dependent on you.

Two Women's Success Stories

A single amaryllis bulb drew Jo Clayton, a science fiction and fantasy writer and author of 35 novels, out of depression when she was struggling with bone cancer, Hazan says. "We spoke about the power of the amaryllis bulb," says Hazan, "and I compared it to the power in her." Clayton, who had never gone outdoors much, began spending time in nature, painting landscapes and resolving issues with family members before her death.

In O. Henry's short story "The Last Leaf," a young Greenwich Village artist is sustained through pneumonia by looking out her window at an ivy vine. The view is a painted one, though the heroine doesn't know this, and it gives her the strength to recover.

A Testimonial to Nature

Gene Gach is convinced that his own involvement with nature has contributed to his health as well. "And my doctors have no other explanation. Being in nature is completely different from taxes and all the worries of modern life. You have a sense of health and regeneration, a completely innocent excitement about all the life that is growing around you, and you know you are part of it.

"As a matter of fact, my only health problem is that sometimes I have trouble falling asleep. But even here the flowers help. I just repeat them, alphabetically, from memory, and I'm asleep in no time."

Acacia, agapanthus, aloe, almond, amaryllis, anemone, antherium, apple.

"Try it! I guarantee it works."

Judith Dancoff is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles who writes frequently on health issues. Her stories have appeared in The Los Angeles Times and Mademoiselle.

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