By Lara Wirtz Fahnestock, Director of Therapeutic Gardens
More Than Just Growing Food
My dear friend and mentor, Jungle Judy, often says the garden is a nonjudgmental teacher. It meets us exactly where we are, offering lessons in patience, resilience, and healing if we’re willing to listen. Over the years, I’ve come to see how true this is—not just for me, but for so many others who find solace in the soil. Gardening isn’t just about food; it’s about connection, renewal, and the quiet wisdom of nature.
Nature as a Healer
Research confirms what gardeners have always known—spending time in nature reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and even alleviates symptoms of anxiety and depression. Exposure to soil can increase serotonin levels, and the rhythmic, mindful work of gardening fosters a sense of calm and purpose.
I’ve seen these benefits firsthand. An ER nurse I met during the height of the pandemic would lie down in her garden after grueling shifts, letting the earth absorb her exhaustion. A child I worked with at a therapeutic garden instinctively ran to the plants when overwhelmed, knowing they offered him a safe, calming space. Over and over, I watch people arrive burdened and leave lighter, their shoulders softening, their breath deepening.
Personally, nature has been a lifelong refuge for me. As a child, I remember lying on a warm rock in the Anza-Borrego Desert, watching palm leaves dance against the sky. It was one of my first memories of feeling completely at peace, and to this day, looking at the sky through trees has a way of settling me. It’s my way of turning down the noise of the world.
Learning from the Seasons
Gardening teaches us that rest is as important as growth. After a climbing accident left me hospitalized for weeks, I found solace in watching the trees outside my window. I tracked their slow transformation through the seasons, realizing that just as they needed dormancy to bloom again, I, too, needed time to heal. Years later, when I became a mother, I found myself in that same space—watching snowfall while resting with my newborn, reminded again that life moves in cycles, and rest is necessary before renewal.
When my second child was born in the spring, he came into the world quickly, bursting forth just like the season in which he was born. My daughter, then two, wanted me to play outside, but I had to rest. Instead, we cuddled by the window, watching the trees leaf out. We told stories, planned the garden she and her brother would one day play in. In those still moments, I understood that healing isn’t just about stillness—it’s about preparing for what comes next.
The garden models resilience. Seeds take root in the harshest conditions, plants adapt, and even after a brutal winter, new growth emerges. This lesson has carried me through many transitions, and it’s one I love sharing with others in our Therapeutic Gardening workshops.
A Place for Connection
Gardens are also powerful spaces for community. At DUG, I’ve watched friendships form over shared garden beds, where neighbors swap stories while tending their plants. These spaces become support networks, offering not just food, but connection and belonging. There’s something profound about working the land together—it reminds us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.
Growing More Than Plants
The beauty of therapeutic gardening is that it’s accessible to everyone. Whether you have a backyard, a balcony, or a small plot in a community garden, nature is always available as a place of healing and growth. The key is to engage with intention—to slow down, to notice, to be present with the earth.
As spring approaches, I’m embracing this lesson myself. I’ve started a vision board, pieced together from seed catalogs, filled with images of hope, beauty, and the community I want to cultivate. Judy sends me photos of the first blooms in her greenhouse—reminders that life is waking up again. And I’m reminded, once more, that after every season of stillness, the time to bloom always returns.
If you’re curious about how gardening can support your well-being, I’d love to share this journey with you. Join me for an upcoming Therapeutic Garden Workshop, gather a group for a Private Group Workshop, or just reach out to say hi. I’d love to share more.
