ST. LOUIS, May 20, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Enjoying the beauty of a leisurely stroll in a garden is something most people take for granted. But, as members of National Garden Clubs across the nation can attest, for many individuals, the sensory delights offered by a garden can add up to much more than a pleasant way to pass the time. In fact, the concept of "garden therapy" as a tool to improve the lives of people of all ages and abilities is gaining ever-wider acceptance. Nowhere is this more apparent than at a well-respected school for visually impaired children in Raleigh, N.C., according to Renee Blaschke, of Smithville, Texas, president of the 200,000-member National Garden Clubs Inc. (www.gardenclub.org).
Thanks to a cooperative effort launched in 1960 between the Gov. Morehead School for the Blind (www.governormorehead.net) and the Garden Club of North Carolina Inc. (www.gardenclubofnc.org), more than 1,000 visually impaired children from across the state have enjoyed the unique experience of the Martha Franck Fragrance Garden, an on-site sanctuary that offers students from kindergarten to grade 12 a nurturing outdoor-learning classroom environment. In addition, the garden is used in the North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind's (www.ncdhhs.gov) rehabilitation services for blind and visually impaired adults. "The garden provides students and consumers with the confidence to take the risks necessary to develop independent living skills and provides a safe, outdoor experience in which to tackle life's many challenges," says Barbria Bacon, Gov. Morehead School director.
Bacon says the garden also was designed to appeal to those with multiple physical challenges to promote self-dependence. Wide brick paths are easily navigated by wheelchair or with assistive walking devices. A fountain helps students and visitors isolate and identify sound and direction. Directional signs and plaques that identify species of plants and flowers are inscribed in Braille. A culinary garden that features herbs and vegetables in raised beds was created to help cultivate an interest in gardening on vocational and recreational levels.
"Gardeners have long recognized that gardens can play an important role in physical and mental health," says NGC's Blaschke. "Our members across the nation work with hospitals, veterans' facilities, eldercare programs, mental health institutions, schools and prisons to implement healing garden therapy programs as most appropriate and effective for each facility."
Founded in 1929 and headquartered in St. Louis, the not-for-profit National Garden Clubs Inc. has 6,300 member clubs across the U.S. and offers extensive educational programs and a variety of resources to promote gardening and environmental responsibility. NGC is the largest volunteer organization of its type in the world.