11/29/2021

As a horticulturist, I have the privilege of working in places where plants and people come together. We know that plants provide us with food, oxygen for us to breathe and help to purify the air around us. More recently, researchers have begun to discover the numerous psychological benefits that plants in our environment provide. Scientific journal articles have detailed the many ways plants help to better our lives. As different studies are completed, the lengthy list continues to grow!

At all stages of life, plants enrich our lives.

Introducing children to gardening benefits them physically, emotionally and developmentally. One study demonstrated that kids who participated in gardening projects scored higher in science achievement than those who did not.

Most kids today could benefit from more physical activity. Moving soil, carrying a watering can, pushing a wheelbarrow and digging in the dirt help develop motor skills and strength. These “heavy work” activities have been shown to help children stay calm and focused. Additionally, research shows that when kids garden, they have improved moods, better learning experiences and decreased anxiety. Moreover, the sense of pride a child gets from eating a cucumber that she grew herself is priceless!

As a kid, I loved all fruits and vegetables, except for fresh tomatoes. For whatever reason, I found the idea of eating a tomato unpalatable. That all changed when I picked the first red, ripe tomato I grew myself. Standing there in the hot Texas summer sun, I decided to take a bite, surprisingly I found it to be delicious! Perhaps my first experience with a fresh tomato was one of those flavorless tomatoes picked green that caused the negative association. This was all the grocery stores had to offer back then.

Surprising Benefits

Did you know that plants are one of the greatest crime prevention tools for urban areas? A research study found that public housing buildings with greater amounts of vegetation had 52% fewer total crimes, 48% fewer property crimes, and 56% fewer violent crimes than buildings with low amounts of vegetation!

Other studies show that roads with landscaped greenways help prevent road rage compared with roadways surrounded by concrete.

Plants in the workplace can increase employee retention and productivity. Staff with plants in their workspace report greater satisfaction, an enhanced ability to focus and productivity increased by an average of 15%!

The floral gifts we give to recuperating patients have much more than sentimental value. Hospital patients in rooms with plants and flowers had significantly shorter stays in the hospital, lower ratings of pain, anxiety and fatigue, less requirement for pain medications, more positive feelings and higher satisfaction about their rooms. When compared with patients in the control group!

Elderly residents of assisted living facilities experience significant benefits to plants in their surroundings. One study revealed that an activity as simple as caring for a houseplant can have very positive effects on a resident's happiness. The act of caring for plants drastically reduced agitation in Alzheimer’s patients. Residents with plants in their rooms enjoyed longer lives and a higher quality of life. One of the most satisfying projects in my career was helping to design a horticulture center for residents of an assisted care facility in Boulder, Colorado. The excitement these residents had over getting their own space to tend plants was contagious. They were so proud of this project and they sent me an effusive thank you letter once the project was complete!

We all can benefit from plants in our lives. Studies show that people who live in areas with more vegetation in the surroundings, have a lower risk of mortality. In one study, this decreased risk relationship was strongest for deaths related to respiratory disease, cancer and kidney disease.

You could easily fill the pages of several books to catalogue the multitude benefits of plants on our lives. Additional benefits are being discovered all the time. For these reasons and more, I encourage you all to go plant something today and watch it, and yourself, grow!