Verbena Bee

Enlisting the natural healing properties of engaging with plants, along with making art was my first impulse following recent toe surgery. As a Therapeutic Horticulture & Creative Wellness Facilitator, I create experiences for others to support their physical, emotional & cognitive wellbeing. Faced with all these challenges myself during recovery, I found my greatest relief was engaging with plants and painting.

Anyone who has gone through surgery can tell you there’s a series of plateaus in the journey to recovery. Once the enormity of the early days passes, there’s a vast amount of open space for little more than yielding to the bodies wisdom to rest. If all goes well, the pain begins to subside and the need for strong pain medication tapers off. A different rhythm sets in. Pain is there but managing it shifts. The rehabilitation begins gently. A perfect time to start engaging with activities that allow a distraction while the body overcomes some of the pain. This is where activities with plants and painting can be incredibly supportive for healing.

In my case, I found my desire to get outside and sit within the garden was the starting point for the gentle progression. Just being among the plants with butterflies and birds offering entertainment. It’s medically proven that having a view of nature encourages healing. Those in a hospital with a window to nature heal more quickly than those without a view. Being in the garden itself maximizes the healing benefits. Before long my desire to start walking in the garden was the impetus to begin wearing shoes. Something quite uncomfortable but necessary for recovery. Day by day, I slowly walked about smelling the flowers and eventually even deadheading spent blooms. During these excursions I gradually felt less pain and could tolerate wearing shoes for longer. This was encouraging on every level.

The other part of healing that can be so overwhelming is the way it can impact our mood. It’s easy to feel blue when you’re in this suspended sense of time. True depression can easily set in during long recovery. It’s human to feel a bit low at the outset of a big physical change. I found this to be true when I broke my shoulder and faced four months at home. That’s when I discovered quite by accident how making art was an incredible healing therapy. Physical therapy was done in conjunction with intervals of painting. My greatest progress was quietly occurring as I splashed color around. My mood lifted and I started looking forward to my art therapy each day.

It was second nature for me to want to start painting in the garden. I’ve witnessed the way the activity of making art lowers stress hormones in myself and others. Cortisol can spike when we are in physical pain. Guiding others in sessions with painting, I can literally see the release on people’s faces when they engage with making marks and get into the flow of creativity. Dopamine is released which feels really good. If we’re with others making art, there’s even oxytocin released which boosts feelings of wellbeing.

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And so it begun. Daily gentle gardening and painting little watercolors perched on the deck. A full sensory experience engaging all my senses. My healing progressed quickly with less need for pain medication and a natural induced mood uplift. I’m healing well and feel grateful for the gentle power of plants and painting.