By Donna McClay
For The Union-Tribune
Do you remember the first time you experienced the heady aroma of a rose? Or felt an overwhelming sense of joy as your tulips appeared in the spring? How about the feeling of connecting with Mother Nature as you plunged your hands into a pile of rich, earthy soil?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Institutes of Health surveyed the responses of nearly 4,000 gardeners to evaluate the impact of gardening on their health and well-being; see more details at bit.ly/GardeningBoost.
Aside from growing food for consumption, the researchers found that gardening provided a positive connection to nature, an increase in physical activity and a means to relieve stress. So, what benefits can garden-related activity have on a specific population — namely, those suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s?
Alzheimer’s disease was first documented in 1906 by a German physician who recorded unique symptoms of memory loss, confusion, and cognitive and behavioral changes in one of his patients. Since then, research into the disease and its origins has expanded significantly, uncovering genetic, biochemical and environmental factors that may contribute to its onset and progression. Despite over a century of investigation, there is still no cure, but advances in diagnostic tools, treatments and preventive strategies continue to offer hope for slowing the disease and improving quality of life for patients and caregivers.
Sharing vintage tools and seed packets awakens gardening memories in memory care patients. (Frank Borkat)
Horticultural therapy is the use of gardening and plant-based activities by trained professionals to improve an individual’s physical, mental and emotional well-being. Recent scientific studies have found that horticultural therapy promotes creativity, self-esteem, social interaction and sensory stimulation. It also improves gross and fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination in persons with Alzheimer’s and related dementias (ADRD). And on a more basic level, gardening activities also serve to reduce anxiety, aggression and depression, and to increase cognitive function.
In 2018, the UC Master Gardeners of San Diego County embarked on an effort to create a horticultural wellness program for memory care patients. In concert with Alzheimer’s San Diego, our first “Reminiscence Gardening” effort consisted of working with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients at their day facility in Kearny Mesa.
Our Reminiscence Gardening program includes a prescribed set of gardening activities. We begin with a sensory activity — sharing cuttings from our gardens to facilitate visual, tactile and olfactory memories of plants, vegetables and flowers. To encourage reminiscence, we add vintage garden tools, seed packets, books and jigsaw puzzles featuring flowers and gardens to round out this activity.
Exploring a wide variety of sensory items from the garden heightens the ability to connect with gardening memories in Alzheimer’s patients. (Chris Cho)
The next step involves working one on one with persons living with ADRD (whom we refer to as our garden partners) to create a tabletop garden. Each garden partner is provided a tray with a plastic pot, soil, three seasonal plants and a plastic saucer. Our garden partners, their caregivers and care staff are all encouraged to participate. They carefully add the soil to the pot and place plants that are selected to highlight different textures, smells, colors and even sounds. The tabletop gardens are embellished with some seasonal “bling.” Through these activities, garden partners are often able to remember and share fond memories of gardening with spouses and other family members.
In addition to Alzheimer’s San Diego, our program has expanded to seven residential memory care facilities throughout San Diego County, from Encinitas to the College Area, with a team of 50 Master Gardeners serving these locations. In 2024, we were fortunate to connect with the UC San Diego Department of Neurosciences Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC). This research-based center focuses on the causes, treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. ADRC developed a series of quality-of-life programs in art and music to enhance the education and emotional well-being of persons living with cognitive impairment caused by ADRD. In the past year, we have collaborated to create a Reminiscence Gardening program for ADRC, focused on those with cognitive impairment who are still living in the community that mirrors what we do in residential memory care facilities.
Working with garden partners to create tabletop gardens enhances self-esteem and reduces stress and anxiety. (Chris Cho)
Dr. Christina Gigliotti is manager of clinical operations at the Shiley-Marcos ADRC and is particularly proud of the partnerships forged and services provided by the center’s quality of life programs. Her research has included horticultural therapy for people with dementia.
According to Gigliotti, “Horticulture therapy has a unique capacity to activate benefits in biopsychosocial domains and include a diverse group of persons living with cognitive impairment at every stage of the disease process. It is developmentally and generationally appropriate and provides benefits via the process while simultaneously producing a product that can generate sustained beneficial outcomes.”
Family and friends of people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia can adopt any of the activities we use in our Reminiscence Gardening program. Picture books of colorful flowers and plants, as well as seed catalogs, can be wonderful sources of memory enhancement. Planting a simple pot of herbs or flowers stimulates positive feelings, self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment. Watching a garden partner come out of their shell as we work together to improve their quality of life — even for a moment — is our reward. The smiles that appear on their faces are why we always say, “Our hearts are full!”
For more information on ADRC’s Quality of Life Programs, visit neurosciences.ucsd.edu/centers-programs/adrc/community/events/quality-of-life-programs.html.
McClay has been a Master Gardener since 2018. She has served as co-chair of the Reminiscence Gardening Program since 2022.
Completed tabletop gardens ready to go home with our garden partners. (Frank Borkat)
Get free gardening advice
UC Master Gardeners of San Diego County hotline: 858-822-6910
Email: help@mastergardenerssandiego.org
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