Growing the Seeds of Well-Being in the Garden

The importance of green infrastructure within urban areas, as well as the ecological and environmental benefits, has the scope of preventing and improving some illnesses and afflictions ever more frequent developing within our increasingly anthropized communities. The paper explores the different lessons learned from nature as horticultural therapist, working with patients with a variety of physical and mental disorders, multiple benefits gained through contact with nature; improvements in listening skills and in relating to other people, to the improvement in working within a team, the containment of aggression, etc.. The final aim of the activity is not only to improve some aspects of the individual patient, but the quality of life as a whole, in order to increase exponentially the possibility of entering the community of reference. The complexity of life and the continuous exposure to stressful situations, frequently leads to experiencing temporary periods of difficulty.. The article describes the techniques used as part of this therapy also within companies, which need to re-integrate employees after prolonged periods of illness and who had lost their role and their sense of belonging within the company. Through the shared planning and setting up of a small garden, it has been possible for the participants to re-discover the value of solidarity, which is often compromised by strong competitiveness dynamics. The high performance that is increasingly requested in today's lifestyle requires to think and foresee the possibility of creating more green spaces accessible to everyone, where people can regenerate and recharge themselves both physically and mentally.