Applications now available for Therapeutic Garden Grants

National Garden Bureau launched this philanthropic program in 2014 and to date, has given more than $45,000 to support the growth of therapeutic gardens, furthering its mission to inspire, educate and motivate gardeners and non-gardeners alike.

According to the American Horticultural Therapy Association, horticultural therapy (HT) is a time-proven practice, one that is seeing a continuing upswing in interest and execution. HT programs are used to assist participants in learning new skills or regaining those that were lost. The therapeutic garden provides the environment to facilitate plant and participant interaction and can focus on healing, rehabilitation, vocational and socialization activities.

Applications are now being accepted from therapeutic gardens that meet the following criteria:

1.     Have a defined therapeutic program, with a Registered Horticulture Therapist on-staff or serving as an advisor and uses the garden to achieve outlined goals for the participants. Examples include occupational, physical, vocational or rehabilitation therapy taking place in a garden setting with significant people and plant interaction.

2.     Is used for job-training, skill-building, food growing, socialization skills, improved quality of life, environmental education or any other positive outcome that can be gained by working in nature.

3.     Involve a significant number of gardeners, clients, patients, visitors or students on a monthly basis.

4.     Has been in existence for at least one year.

The 2021 grant recipients were: Inova Mt. Vernon Hospital in Alexandria, VA; Children's Garden CFEC in Winston Salem, NC; Vera Scherer Garden at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morristown, NJ.

To apply, applicants who meet the criteria outlined above should complete this application form, provide necessary photos and submit all to the NGB office by July 1, 2022. A group of horticulture therapy experts will narrow down applications to three finalists. Those three finalists will then be asked to submit a one-minute video featuring their program which will be posted on social media.  Voting by the public will be open from September 15-30, 2022. The top vote-getter will receive $3,000, second and third place will receive $1,000 each.

For more information about this project or National Garden Bureau, visit: www.ngb.org and follow National Garden Bureau on Social Media.

National Garden Bureau, founded in 1920, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to disseminate basic instructions for home gardeners. Annually, NGB publishes and sponsors the New Varieties program and the Year Of The fact sheets featuring flowers and vegetables, including new introductions, which are especially suited to home gardens. National Garden Bureau has also taken an active role in supporting therapeutic gardens through fundraising and grants. 

American Meadows is one of the most respected online retailers of wildflower seeds, perennial plants, flower bulbs and vegetable seeds in all of North America. Our people have been helping supply gardeners since 1981. At American Meadows, we like to say that we Do Good Through Gardening. Our primary focus is to be great at providing home gardeners with the products and knowledge they need to succeed.  We seek to be a trusted gardening partner for creative gardeners —those who are willing to combine new ideas and products with classic favorites. Our customers range from some of the most experienced horticulturists in the country, to those who simply want to add a little color to their life, and everyone in between.

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Source: HortiBiz