News Release
February 20, 2000

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Friends Hospital Celebrates 30 Years at the Flower Show
Exhibit Teaches Mental Health Benefits of Gardening

Friends Hospital, the nation’s first private, non-profit psychiatric hospital, will be celebrating its 30^th anniversary as an exhibitor at the Philadelphia Flower Show. The theme of this year’s exhibit, "Gardening for Good Mental Health," underscores the Hospital’s ongoing use of horticultural therapy to treat patients and its long-standing support of the Flower Show.

"Since 1813, Friends Hospital has used environment and gardening as a critical part of our patients’ treatment. Thirty years ago, the Hospital recognized that the Philadelphia Flower Show was the perfect venue to teach the public about the mental health benefits of gardening and mental illness, in general. We have supported this wonderful event ever since," said Wayne Mugrauer, CEO of Friends Hospital.

"While gardening is one of America’s favorite leisure activities, many people may not recognize the great mental and physical health benefits. Psychiatrists and physical therapists both agree that gardening is an excellent way to relieve mental stress and get good exercise at the same time," said Mona Gold, horticultural therapist at Friends Hospital.

It has been proven that stress and fatigue can be lightened with the simple repetitive nature of the tasks," Gold said. "Or we can relieve some of our aggressive drives in an acceptable manner by clipping hedges or breaking up older flower pots for use in new projects.

"The true psychological reward is seeing a seed or sapling sown by your own hand grow and mature into a living thing. It results in the growth of what is pleasant and appealing to us as human beings. And our sense of accomplishment and self-esteem is cultivated, just as much as the garden that we have helped to bear fruit or flora," Gold said.

In Friends Hospital’s Flower Show exhibit, visitors will see how gardening can be used by people of all ages to improve their health and sense of well being. A beautiful mural of the Hospital grounds and dozens of plants, flowers, shrubs and trees found at Friends Hospital are featured throughout the exhibit along with examples of horticultural projects completed by the patients at the Hospital.

The young people in the Hospital’s Child and Adolescent Program contributed hand-made plant labels which are personalized with different designs and plant materials. "This project sparks creativity and enhances our sense of touch, sight and smell," Gold said.

Patients in the Adult Programs and staff members at the Hospital designed birdhouse/feeders for the exhibit. "Building a birdhouse creates a real sense of accomplishment, especially when someone sees how their birdhouse attracts wildlife and brings nature closer to them," Gold said.

Although many are physically handicapped or weak, the older adults in Friends Geropsychiatry program also engage in gardening tasks. Friends’ exhibit features an adaptive garden similar to one found on the grounds of Friends Hospital and shows the special tools a person can use to ease the stress and strain of gardening. "There is simply no need to stop gardening as you grow older or your physical abilities change," Gold said.

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