garden

New OARDC garden will help study links between plants and health

“I’m an Ohio State grad. My grandfather and father came from Wooster. This is something I wanted to do for the university. I believe plants are very important in people’s health, and I hope this garden will be beneficial for people of all ages in the community, as well as for research.” — Bill Lemmon, president and owner, Lemmon & Lemmon Inc.

“I’m an Ohio State grad. My grandfather and father came from Wooster. This is something I wanted to do for the university. I believe plants are very important in people’s health, and I hope this garden will be beneficial for people of all ages in the community, as well as for research.”
— Bill Lemmon, president and owner, Lemmon & Lemmon Inc.

The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center’s Secrest Arboretum has many gardens, but its newest addition stands out for its therapeutic and research value.

Established in summer 2015, The Lemmon and Rice Health and Wellness Garden was designed to boost visitors’ sense of well-being and provide opportunities for research into the impact gardens and nature have on human health. The garden was constructed thanks to donations from Bill Lemmon, president and owner of Lemmon & Lemmon Inc., and Kevin Rice, vice president of Rice’s Nursery and Landscaping, both located in the Canton area.

This is one of the country’s few gardens designed around the concept of the pillars of wellness. The garden focuses on six of the nine pillars: environmental, physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual and social. OARDC has teamed up with The Ohio State University College of Nursing to conduct future research in the garden.

“Many visitors already use the arboretum as a part of their wellness program,” said Joe Cochran, Secrest’s interim director. “One visitor told me he had lost 36 pounds somewhere on the paths throughout the gardens.”

ESSENTIALS

Studies have shown the benefits of gardens and other outdoor spaces on health and wellness.

• Gardening 3–5 times a week has been found to be a good strategy to combat obesity and lower stress.
• Patients with musculoskeletal pain taking part in horticultural therapy programs experience an improved ability to cope with chronic pain.
• Children with attention deficit disorder who play in grassy, outdoor spaces have less severe symptoms than those who play in windowless, indoor settings.
• Dementia patients who have access to gardens are less likely to display aggression or suffer injuries, and they display improved sleep patterns, balanced hormones and decreased agitation.

More: go.osu.edu/healthgarden

Heart-Healthy Garden Program: ‘The Gift that Keeps on Giving’

Don Tedrow in Ross Heart Garden

Don Tedrow assists another Ross Heart Hospital Community Garden participant harvest radishes after a summer 2015 healthy living class.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Don Tedrow’s heart is full of gratitude.

In January 2015, Tedrow was shopping at a home improvement store when he began feeling “strange, feeling some pressure,” he said.

He went home, and he and his wife headed to the Emergency Department at the The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

“They kept me overnight, did some tests, and found out I had an 80 percent blockage in my main artery,” Tedrow said.

After a stent was inserted to open the blockage, Tedrow participated in the medical center’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program.

“That was excellent,” he said. “A life-changer.”

While there, Tedrow learned about the new Ross Heart Hospital Community Garden program, a collaboration between the medical center and Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), which he participated in during the summer.

“It was the perfect follow-up,” Tedrow said, “because I had learned how to exercise in rehab, but I didn’t know what to do with my diet.”

The program, which combines gardening with healthy-living classes, started in 2015. It was the brainchild of Jim Warner, food and nutrition program director with the medical center’s food service administration. Warner also is involved with a similar program with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

To read more: http://go.osu.edu/heartgarden