Human-Plant Relations The Dao of Horticultural Therapy
Therapy
The English word 'therapy' comes from a Latin word 'therapīa' which comes from a Gree word 'θεραπεία' meaning healing.
One effect of process-relational philosophy is that it widens the horizons of what 'therapy' or 'healing' can mean. Traditionally, therapy has focused on the minds and bodies of individuals, helping them heal from disease and trauma, develop coping skills, or grow toward personal well-being. More recently, social therapeutics has broadened this view, emphasizing that healing and growth take place in relationships and communities, not in isolation—a vital and needed expansion. Yet even social therapeutics can remain human-centered, overlooking the larger web of life in which all healing occurs.
Process philosophy invites an even more encompassing vision. Rooted in pan-experientialism—the idea that there is something like creativity and sentience throughout nature—it sees therapy as part of the living creativity of the universe itself, as nurtured by a spiritual presence which lures each and all toward flourishing.
Within this wider field, our relationships with plants, animals, ecosystems, and also the imaginative and symbolic life of the mind all become sites of renewal and transformation. To care for the earth, to tend a garden, to listen to music, to rest in silence, to love—each can be a form of therapy when understood as participation in the web of life on Earth, and in the ongoing creative advance of life itself. This frames a context for considering horticultural therapy. It is one of several kinds of creative and expressive therapies which are centered in our human relations with the more-than-human world, including animal-assisted therapy and forest therapy and star-gazing therapy. In the case of horticultural therapy, of course, the therapists are plants and our relations with them.
The Practices of Horticultural Therapy At the bottom of this page please find videos on horticultural therapy. You will see by watching even a few of them, such therapy can take place indoors or outdoors—in gardens, greenhouses, classrooms, hospitals, or community centers. The practices vary according to the needs of participants but commonly include:
Plant propagation and seed starting, cultivating patience, care, and anticipation.
Gardening and landscape tending, developing strength, coordination, and mindfulness.
Floral arranging and sensory engagement, inspiring creativity and emotional expression.
Harvesting and cooking, fostering appreciation for nourishment and the interconnectedness of food and life.
Nature-based reflection and journaling, deepening awareness of inner and outer growth.
Each activity has specific therapeutic goals in mind—whether to improve mobility, enhance focus, ease anxiety, strengthen memory, or nurture a sense of belonging. The process is inherently relational: connecting person and plant, participant and community, body and earth, self and the larger web of life.
The Beneficiaries of Horticultural Therapies.
include people of all ages and abilities—children, adolescents, adults, and elders—each finding unique forms of healing and growth through connection with plants and nature.
Children and youth benefit through sensory exploration, patience, and responsibility, discovering joy in nurturing life.
Adults in recovery—from injury, illness, addiction, or trauma—find renewed confidence, focus, and peace through purposeful activity.
Older adults experience improved memory, mobility, and mood, as well as a sense of continuity and contribution.
People with developmental or physical disabilities gain empowerment and skill through adaptive tools and inclusive garden spaces.
Individuals experiencing stress, anxiety, or depression often find calm, grounding, and renewed connection to the living world.
In every case, horticultural therapy invites participants to experience themselves as co-creators in a living system—restoring not only health, but also relationship, meaning, and delight in the ongoing renewal of life.
Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Care
In most cases, of course, horticultural therapy is not isolated from other forms of therapy. Horticultural therapists collaborate with others such as occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech and language therapists, psychologists, social workers, and educators. Together they design treatment or wellness plans that integrate horticultural activities with other therapeutic goals.
Each of these allied therapies brings its own distinctive wisdom to the healing process. Occupational and physical therapists focus on restoring strength, balance, and fine-motor skills; speech and language therapists help improve communication and cognitive engagement; psychologists and social workers attend to emotional well-being and social integration; and educators cultivate learning, curiosity, and confidence.
When their insights are woven together with horticultural therapy, the result is a truly holistic approach—one that nurtures the whole person: body, mind, and spirit. The garden, in this sense, becomes both a metaphor and a meeting place where diverse disciplines work side by side to cultivate human flourishing.
Creative and Expressive Therapies
Horticultural therapy often complements other creative and expressive therapies, such as art therapy and music therapy related practices share a focus on expression, connection, and the unfolding of growth from within. In art therapy, individuals explore feelings and experiences through color, form, and image, translating inner life into visual language. In music therapy, rhythm, melody, and harmony become pathways to memory, movement, and emotional release. When combined with horticultural therapy, these therapies reinforce one another: painting what is grown, singing while planting, or creating shared garden rituals that blend sound, color, and touch into a living art form of healing.
Animal-Assisted Therapies
Horticultural therapy is also complemented by animal-assisted therapy, where the presence of animals—dogs, horses, rabbits, birds, or other gentle companions—adds a vital dimension of relational healing. Just as gardening invites connection with the living world through plants, animal-assisted therapy invites empathy, trust, and affection through interspecies companionship. The warmth of an animal’s presence can calm anxiety, ease loneliness, and open channels of communication that words alone cannot reach. When combined with horticultural therapy, these practices together deepen participants’ sense of belonging within the larger community of life, reminding us that healing often arises through mutual care between species.
Hippotherapy and the Healing Power of Movement
Hippotherapy—from the Greek hippos, meaning “horse”—is another form of therapy that beautifully complements horticultural therapy. In this practice, the natural movement of a horse becomes part of a structured treatment led by a licensed physical, occupational, or speech therapist. The horse’s gentle, rhythmic gait provides a three-dimensional motion that closely mirrors human walking, helping participants improve balance, posture, coordination, and core strength.
The benefits are not only physical. The sensory and emotional bond formed between human and horse can foster trust, confidence, and calm, particularly for those living with developmental, neurological, or emotional challenges. Children and adults with conditions such as cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, or trauma-related anxiety often respond especially well to this integrative approach. When combined with horticultural therapy, hippotherapy extends the circle of healing into the wider community of life. Both practices awaken a sense of connection and reciprocity—between body and movement, human and animal, soil and spirit. Together they remind us that growth and healing emerge through relationship, rhythm, and the gentle motion of life itself.
The Dao of Healing
In the spirit of process philosophy, therapy can be understood not simply as a technique or profession, but as a way of participating in the healing life of the world itself. Every act of care—whether planting a seed, stroking a horse’s mane, arranging flowers, or listening to another’s story—is a gesture of alignment with the creative advance of the universe. It is a moment when the boundaries between self and world soften, and we discover ourselves as participants in something larger, rhythmic, and alive.
To see therapy in this light is to recognize that the impulse to heal and to be healed is woven into the fabric of existence. It flows through ecosystems, through the imaginations of artists, through the compassion of caregivers, and through the quiet labor of plants transforming sunlight into life. Horticultural therapy, and the many allied practices that accompany it, remind us that the Earth herself is a great therapist—ever patient, ever renewing—and that our task is not to master her processes but to join them, gratefully and creatively, as fellow participants in the unfolding story of life.
At the heart of this process is a Spirit of creative transformation at work in the universe. This Spirit has many names. Some speak of it as God, some as the Dao, and some simply as Spirit. What matters is not the name but the recognition that healing flows through many forms of life—through plants and animals, horses and landscapes, waterways and winds, and through art, imagination, and compassionate action. All can be channels of grace through which the Spirit works, inviting us to participate in the ongoing renewal of life and the creation of beauty, wholeness, and peace.
There is no need to say that this Spirit of creative transformation is all-powerful, or that it is the only form of energy at work in the universe. There are others, too—forces of decay, resistance, and entropy, which belong to the very fabric of existence. And, in human life at least, forces of hatred, greed, and violence. Yet this Spirit is the lure toward healing, the gentle power of renewal to which healers give their lives. Therapists, artists, and caregivers of every kind seek to become vessels of this Spirit, allowing its energy to move through them in acts of compassion, creativity, and care.
From pan-experientialism, we learn that their partners in healing are not only one another but also plants and animals, horses and gardens, landscapes and waterways, soil and sunshine, wind and water. In the house of healing, there are many rooms—and all are inhabited by the living presences through which the Dao of healing, the Spirit of creative transformation, moves.
The healing that is sought is not everlasting life, although that may well be a possibility. It is the flourishing of life to whatever degree is possible while on Earth, be it in moments, weeks, months, years, or decades. The moments of flourishing, relative to the situations at hand, are the outcome of healing. A child with autism finding calm while watering plants in a garden; an elderly woman in a nursing home smiling as she smells lavender and remembers her childhood; a veteran learning to breathe with his therapy horse; a stroke survivor regaining confidence through planting and harvesting vegetables; a person living with depression feeling joy again at the sight of a blooming sunflower; or a community tending a shared garden after loss—all of these are expressions of healing. They are not escapes from suffering or denials of finitude, but instances of life responding to life, of the creative transformation that brings beauty, meaning, and connection, even in the face of limitation.