Therapeutic Value In Gardens

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31306, 28 February 1967, Page 2

Therapeutic Value In Gardens

Garden club members in the United States pass on their appreciation of beauty to the less privileged members of society by garden therapy, according to Mrs H. S. Kittel, of Fort Worth, Texas, who is the civic development chairman of the National Council of State Garden Clubs in America.

Garden therapy had been practised in Texas more than 30 years, and was widely recognised by the medical profession, said Mrs Kittel.

Members organised clubs for retarded children, the blind, old people, the mentally ill, handicapped people and prisoners. “Welfare work within the clubs is very interesting,” said Mrs Kittel. Prisoners have their own clubs and regular flower shows are organised for them to show their exhibits. “I have often worked in gardening programmes for the blind. Just imagine trying to describe a flower to a person who has never seen a colour. Members work hard in their therapy programmes but they invariably get more than they give,” she said. “The medical profession recognises the therapeutic value of gardening in each of

five separate fields,” said Mrs Kittel. Mrs Kittel is in New Zealand to give floral art demonstrations for the New Zealand Floral Art Society. The

president (Mrs E. B. Dodds), arranged the tour. Mrs Kittel took up floral art by accident. “I used to grow flowers, and I almost prided myself that I didn’t arrange them. Then one day a women telephoned in tears. Her little boy had had an accident just as she was about to demonstrate floral art to her club. “We swopped cars—she took her son to hospital in mine and I went off in hers with her floral arrangements in the back, not knowing a container from a holder. “I had never spoken in public before, nor had I seen her arrangements, but I tried to explain them by what I knew to be the basic principles of art. “Surprisingly, my demonstration was a great success. One woman present asked if I would give a demonstration to her garden club in March. This was October and I thought I would have plenty of time to prepare for it.” In preparation for the address, Mrs Kittel wrote down , the basic principles of art in understandable form, and a best-seller was born. Called “Easy Ways to Good Flower Arrangement,” the first edition sold out in six weeks. It is now In its sixth edition. She has since written five books, collaborated in several others, and written numerous articles on floral arrangement for magazines at home and overseas. In two years she has set up civic development conferences in 47 states, mostly co-spon-sored by universities, and usually attended by city officials but also by the public. Garden clubs in America attracted many more male members. Some clubs were organised exclusively for male members and others were "Mr and Mrs Clubs,” said Mrs Kittel.