The Garden as an Inclusive Learning Center:
A Zone of Proximal Development
In The Overweight Brain, Lois Holzman builds on the ideas of Lev Vygotsky, a Soviet psychologist whose work emphasized the social and cultural foundations of learning and development. Vygotsky proposed that human cognition is shaped through interactions with others and mediated by cultural tools, including language. One of his key contributions is the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).
Holzman describes such a zone this way:
This term was coined by Vygotsky and is probably what he’s best known for. It was one of the ways he tried to convey that human learning and development derive from and live in the social spaces people create together, rather than within any individual. A Zone of Proximal Development is an environment allowing people to go beyond what they can do alone. Little children spend their days in these environments, ones that invite and support them to do what’s “proximal” to where they’re at, to play at speaking, reading, dancing, and so much more. They might not know yet how do those things, but the people they’re with do know how. And these people don’t just speak and read and dance by themselves. They encourage the little non-knowers to speak and read and dance along with them, to play and perform as speakers and readers and dancers even though they don’t yet know how. The way I see it, Zones of Proximal Development are nothing less than the how and the where and the when people develop into who they’re becoming. They are the space and the activity of becoming who we are by performing who we are not.
Holzman, Lois. The Overweight Brain: How our obsession with knowing keeps us from getting smart enough to make a better world (p. 154). East Side Institute Press. Kindle Edition.
One activity that we can perform, which simultaneously helps us recover our roots in the earth and with one another, is community gardening. We may not know how to garden, but in performing it, as best we can and with help from others, we perform who we are not, or perhaps better, not yet. Like children babbling on their way to talking, we plant seeds and pull weeds on our way to gardening, learning from others who are more experienced.
A garden, then, can function as a powerful Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) by creating a space where individuals of all ages and abilities collaborate, learn, and develop together. Rooted in Vygotsky’s concept of learning through social interaction, a garden offers opportunities for participants to engage in tasks that stretch their abilities, supported by the expertise and encouragement of others. In this living environment, growth is not only about the plants but also about the people tending to them, as they perform new roles, learn through doing, and develop through shared experience.
In a garden, participants may vary in skill and experience—some might know how to plant, water, or harvest crops, while others are engaging with gardening for the first time. The more experienced gardeners model behaviors and techniques, guiding less experienced participants to perform activities beyond what they could do alone. This dynamic reflects the core of a ZPD, where learning and development occur through supportive collaboration. A child may be taught how to plant seeds by an elder, or an adult with dementia might rediscover joy and purpose by watering flowers with a caregiver's encouragement. Through these shared efforts, participants grow alongside one another, performing who they are becoming.
A garden also fosters creativity and improvisation—essential elements of development. Gardening is not a rigid process but one that requires flexibility and responsiveness to changing conditions, such as weather, pests, or unexpected growth patterns. Participants in the garden learn to adapt and problem-solve together, developing skills in observation, patience, and care. This non-linear process mirrors the way people grow through ZPDs, learning not from static instructions but through real-time interaction and experimentation.
The garden further exemplifies the relational nature of development by engaging multiple generations and abilities in collaborative activity. In a multi-generational gardening project, elders may pass down life wisdom while children introduce playfulness and energy, and caregivers facilitate engagement with those who need additional support. A person with dementia, for instance, may not remember the steps to plant a flower but can still experience moments of agency and connection through touch, smell, and movement. These interactions are not transactional but performative—each participant is contributing to the garden’s growth and, in doing so, performing new versions of themselves.
Ultimately, a garden as a ZPD emphasizes development as an ongoing, communal process. The garden teaches that learning is not an individual pursuit but a relational act, unfolding through shared experiences. Just as plants grow in response to their environment, people grow through their relationships with others, learning to care, nurture, and respond to life’s changes. In this way, the garden becomes a living metaphor for Vygotsky’s ZPD, illustrating that development happens not in isolation but through collaboration, creativity, and the ongoing performance of who we are becoming.
- Jay McDaniel
Holzman describes such a zone this way:
This term was coined by Vygotsky and is probably what he’s best known for. It was one of the ways he tried to convey that human learning and development derive from and live in the social spaces people create together, rather than within any individual. A Zone of Proximal Development is an environment allowing people to go beyond what they can do alone. Little children spend their days in these environments, ones that invite and support them to do what’s “proximal” to where they’re at, to play at speaking, reading, dancing, and so much more. They might not know yet how do those things, but the people they’re with do know how. And these people don’t just speak and read and dance by themselves. They encourage the little non-knowers to speak and read and dance along with them, to play and perform as speakers and readers and dancers even though they don’t yet know how. The way I see it, Zones of Proximal Development are nothing less than the how and the where and the when people develop into who they’re becoming. They are the space and the activity of becoming who we are by performing who we are not.
Holzman, Lois. The Overweight Brain: How our obsession with knowing keeps us from getting smart enough to make a better world (p. 154). East Side Institute Press. Kindle Edition.
One activity that we can perform, which simultaneously helps us recover our roots in the earth and with one another, is community gardening. We may not know how to garden, but in performing it, as best we can and with help from others, we perform who we are not, or perhaps better, not yet. Like children babbling on their way to talking, we plant seeds and pull weeds on our way to gardening, learning from others who are more experienced.
A garden, then, can function as a powerful Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) by creating a space where individuals of all ages and abilities collaborate, learn, and develop together. Rooted in Vygotsky’s concept of learning through social interaction, a garden offers opportunities for participants to engage in tasks that stretch their abilities, supported by the expertise and encouragement of others. In this living environment, growth is not only about the plants but also about the people tending to them, as they perform new roles, learn through doing, and develop through shared experience.
In a garden, participants may vary in skill and experience—some might know how to plant, water, or harvest crops, while others are engaging with gardening for the first time. The more experienced gardeners model behaviors and techniques, guiding less experienced participants to perform activities beyond what they could do alone. This dynamic reflects the core of a ZPD, where learning and development occur through supportive collaboration. A child may be taught how to plant seeds by an elder, or an adult with dementia might rediscover joy and purpose by watering flowers with a caregiver's encouragement. Through these shared efforts, participants grow alongside one another, performing who they are becoming.
A garden also fosters creativity and improvisation—essential elements of development. Gardening is not a rigid process but one that requires flexibility and responsiveness to changing conditions, such as weather, pests, or unexpected growth patterns. Participants in the garden learn to adapt and problem-solve together, developing skills in observation, patience, and care. This non-linear process mirrors the way people grow through ZPDs, learning not from static instructions but through real-time interaction and experimentation.
The garden further exemplifies the relational nature of development by engaging multiple generations and abilities in collaborative activity. In a multi-generational gardening project, elders may pass down life wisdom while children introduce playfulness and energy, and caregivers facilitate engagement with those who need additional support. A person with dementia, for instance, may not remember the steps to plant a flower but can still experience moments of agency and connection through touch, smell, and movement. These interactions are not transactional but performative—each participant is contributing to the garden’s growth and, in doing so, performing new versions of themselves.
Ultimately, a garden as a ZPD emphasizes development as an ongoing, communal process. The garden teaches that learning is not an individual pursuit but a relational act, unfolding through shared experiences. Just as plants grow in response to their environment, people grow through their relationships with others, learning to care, nurture, and respond to life’s changes. In this way, the garden becomes a living metaphor for Vygotsky’s ZPD, illustrating that development happens not in isolation but through collaboration, creativity, and the ongoing performance of who we are becoming.
- Jay McDaniel