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A Therapist's Garden
The Zen of mixing mud with seniors; crafting surprising salads out of weeds; and a hidden rabbit bringing joy to girls in a juvenile detention center. These are a few of the nearly 100 stories that Erik Keller takes readers on through a journey of how interacting with plants and nature can help heal mental, emotional, and physical trauma. Through the lens of January to December, in a New England landscape, discover how horticultural therapy improves the lives of those in pain including special-needs children, cancer patients, and disabled seniors.
Though "A Therapist's Garden" primarily deals with the emotional and physical benefits of nature-based interactions, it also provides an array of practical gardening advice and tips through client stories as well as monthly outings and crafts that will surprise and delight readers.
Though "A Therapist's Garden" primarily deals with the emotional and physical benefits of nature-based interactions, it also provides an array of practical gardening advice and tips through client stories as well as monthly outings and crafts that will surprise and delight readers.
- GenresSelf HelpNonfiction
211 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2022
About the author
Erik Keller
6 books12 followersOver the last 20 years, Erik Keller has worked with thousands of people of all ages and types using horticulture and therapeutic techniques to help them deal with physical, cognitive, social and emotional challenges. Venues have ranged from special-needs schools, to prisons, to nursing facilities to private homes. Certifications from the University of Connecticut as a Master Gardener in 2000 and the New York Botanical Garden in Horticultural Therapy in 2009 has given Keller a strong base of knowledge from which he has been able to help his clients. He is a member of the American Horticultural Therapy Association, the Northeast Horticultural Therapy Network as well as the Connecticut Master Gardeners Association. He writes extensively about the healing power of horticultural therapy on a variety of social media platforms and on his website www.grohappy.com.
For over a decade, Keller has been running a twice-monthly horticultural therapy (HT) program at Ann’s Place, a not-for-profit facility helping those with cancer located in Danbury, CT. Since the emergence of COVID-19, Keller has developed a wide variety of virtual and hybrid HT sessions for clients. He also manages and maintains the grounds at Ann’s Place, which he designed over a decade ago to accommodate therapeutic needs of the client base.
Keller is also a commissioner for the Ridgefield Conservation Commission, which manages and maintains over 3,100 acres of open space in Ridgefield, CT. In the past, he has run horticultural therapy programs at senior living and nursing facilities as well as run programs at Green Chimneys, a school for special-needs children in Brewster, NY.
For over a decade, Keller has been running a twice-monthly horticultural therapy (HT) program at Ann’s Place, a not-for-profit facility helping those with cancer located in Danbury, CT. Since the emergence of COVID-19, Keller has developed a wide variety of virtual and hybrid HT sessions for clients. He also manages and maintains the grounds at Ann’s Place, which he designed over a decade ago to accommodate therapeutic needs of the client base.
Keller is also a commissioner for the Ridgefield Conservation Commission, which manages and maintains over 3,100 acres of open space in Ridgefield, CT. In the past, he has run horticultural therapy programs at senior living and nursing facilities as well as run programs at Green Chimneys, a school for special-needs children in Brewster, NY.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 7, 2022
This book has a great, original topic - after reading a few articles about the mental health benefits of forest baths and gardening, having dreams of gardens and feeling better after walks in nature, I picked it up with high hopes.
The author is a therapist-gardener, helping people feel better through gardening.
I did like the seasonal aspect of the book, each chapter a month of the year, with quite a lot of gardening tips. I liked all the anecdotes that felt personal to him. I was moved by how he helped his late mother develop her garden over the years, and the obvious love he has for his wife and his granddaughter, that I'll remember as a crop destroyer :) The author seemed humble, and caring for his patients and loved ones.
That said, I found the writing itself awkward at time, and some patterns repetitive. The Latin names of plants could have been dumped in a glossary at the end, but in the book the author would mention them in parenthesis after every new plant and it broke the narration. I also wished we could have connected more deeply with some clients and followed their mental health evolution. Instead, we meet new people every chapter, and it becomes difficult to understand some long lasting therapeutic benefits of gardening, or to care about anonymous new characters. Now, regarding my ethics vs the author: I was disappointed by the casual killing approach to so-called "pests" (especially when I read that compassionate solutions exist to prevent slugs from eating all your produce, like copper bands) and how "disgusting" they seem to everyone without it being questioned, apart from the rat at the beginning.
Overall, it was an interesting read, and feels like a work of love from the author.
I want to thank Erik Keller, Black Rose Writing publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
The author is a therapist-gardener, helping people feel better through gardening.
I did like the seasonal aspect of the book, each chapter a month of the year, with quite a lot of gardening tips. I liked all the anecdotes that felt personal to him. I was moved by how he helped his late mother develop her garden over the years, and the obvious love he has for his wife and his granddaughter, that I'll remember as a crop destroyer :) The author seemed humble, and caring for his patients and loved ones.
That said, I found the writing itself awkward at time, and some patterns repetitive. The Latin names of plants could have been dumped in a glossary at the end, but in the book the author would mention them in parenthesis after every new plant and it broke the narration. I also wished we could have connected more deeply with some clients and followed their mental health evolution. Instead, we meet new people every chapter, and it becomes difficult to understand some long lasting therapeutic benefits of gardening, or to care about anonymous new characters. Now, regarding my ethics vs the author: I was disappointed by the casual killing approach to so-called "pests" (especially when I read that compassionate solutions exist to prevent slugs from eating all your produce, like copper bands) and how "disgusting" they seem to everyone without it being questioned, apart from the rat at the beginning.
Overall, it was an interesting read, and feels like a work of love from the author.
I want to thank Erik Keller, Black Rose Writing publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 9, 2022
Loved it! The Author kindly sent me a hard copy which I appreciated. Garden therapy. This book was just what i needed to revitalize my spirit after a long Winter in Florida!
Erik Keller is a Horticultural Therapist who shares a 100 stories of how interacting with plants and nature can heal mental, emotional and physical trauma. I particularly enjoyed the Art of Zen-mixing mud with seniors.
The Author splits the chapters by month and offers pratical wisdom and a seasonal craft and a nature outing to enjoy. "January Craft: grow Some Sprouts."
This book was a reminder to me, as the Author states, that we are all horticultural therapists when we bring freshly cut flowers to a loved one in the hospital. "There is happiness and peace in these simple acts."
But beyond the plethora of horticulture therapy principles, there is a wealth of knowledge about plants, gardening, including an index of plant names.
I have this book on my coffee table next to a plant of course, and each month I look forward to reading the current month's chapter on nature therapy.
Many thanks to the Author, Erik Keller, NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for the opportunity to read and review this memorable book.
Erik Keller is a Horticultural Therapist who shares a 100 stories of how interacting with plants and nature can heal mental, emotional and physical trauma. I particularly enjoyed the Art of Zen-mixing mud with seniors.
The Author splits the chapters by month and offers pratical wisdom and a seasonal craft and a nature outing to enjoy. "January Craft: grow Some Sprouts."
This book was a reminder to me, as the Author states, that we are all horticultural therapists when we bring freshly cut flowers to a loved one in the hospital. "There is happiness and peace in these simple acts."
But beyond the plethora of horticulture therapy principles, there is a wealth of knowledge about plants, gardening, including an index of plant names.
I have this book on my coffee table next to a plant of course, and each month I look forward to reading the current month's chapter on nature therapy.
Many thanks to the Author, Erik Keller, NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for the opportunity to read and review this memorable book.
March 6, 2022
A different take on gardens. When a therapist gets to write about gardens, gardening, and what happens there and when, this book is what happens. It is an interesting read which makes you think about gardens from maybe a bit different perspective. The book goes through every month of the year and what is going on just then. I recommend this book to people with green thumbs or at least one green finger, who gets energy from green gardens.
January 7, 2024
This was an interesting book, and I enjoyed the stories and gardening advice it contained. It was broken down by months, and I liked seeing how the garden changed and evolved with each season. It didn't flow very smoothly, but the descriptions are vivid enough that you can see each scene unfold before you. Overall, an interesting read that is part memoir of sorts and part gardening advice.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews