February 20, 2006
 For most, a Japanese Zen garden evokes visions of peace and tranquility — a place to escape from the stresses of the world.
The idea of healing gardens dates back millennia; the use of plants to cure illness and sickness even further still. Egyptian, Chinese, and Indian scholars were writing about medicinal plants thousands of years ago.
The early Greeks turned to pot marigold to cure headaches and fevers. During the Middle Ages, sage was thought to increase longevity and mental capacity. Early American colonists adopted many Native American remedies, such as the use of purple coneflower to treat snakebite and burns.
Today, substances produced by the vinca rosea plant are used to treat several forms of cancer, willow remains an ingredient in aspirin and many still turn to echinacea to, potentially, boost the immune system and help prevent colds.
At the 2006 Philadelphia Flower Show, Temple University Ambler’s exhibit celebrates not only of the art of plants and flowers but of their healing properties as well. “Nature Nurtures – Mind, Body, Spirit” emphasize the healing potential for gardens of any size, educates visitors about how to make healing gardens of their own, and explores the medicinal use of plants over the course of human history, from the Ancient World through the Renaissance to the present day.
“A garden is more than just a pretty space; what you plant and how you plant it can affect the mind, body, and spirit,” said Jenny Rose Carey, Director of the Landscape Arboretum of Temple University Ambler, who is coordinating the project with Pauline Hurley-Kurtz, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture; Skip Graffam, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture; and Sinclair Adam, Senior Lecturer in Horticulture. “Healing gardens are a place of separation — a contemplative space of color and texture. Healing gardens are very sensory, appealing to all five senses in a positive way.”
Temple’s exhibit meshes well with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s 2006 Flower Show theme — “Enchanted Spring…A Tribute to Mother Nature.” The Flower Show runs from Sunday, March 5 to Sunday, March 12, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. It will also serve as a fitting tribute to an esteemed Ambler campus alum.
Carey said the theme for this year’s exhibit was inspired in part by late Temple alum Ernesta Ballard, who was also a founding member of the Ambler campus Board of Visitors. Ballard, who passed away in August 2005, was president of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society from 1963 to 1981, during which the Society instituted its nationally recognized community gardening program, Philadelphia Green, and revived the Philadelphia Flower Show.
“After her stroke, Ernesta became very interested in healing gardens of all sorts, particularly labyrinths and their potential to help with healing stroke victims. The three educational ‘prongs’ of the arboretum are the health benefits of gardens, the history of women in horticulture and design, and concepts of sustainability,” Carey said. “At the flower show, we’ve explored sustainability many times and examined women’s history in 2005 — this was the right year to explore healing gardens as a topic. We presented the general theme to the junior and senior Landscape Architecture studios and asked that, if it were possible, a labyrinth be incorporated in some way to honor Ernesta; to pass along her vision.”
 The exhibit includes a visual labyrinth as its central feature in addition to a fountain, trellis structures, a woodland area, mural wall, a healing plants timeline with growing examples from each era, educational panels explaining the concept of healing gardens, and a detailed “how to” about creating healing gardens at home.
“The mural is an extension of the landscape in the exhibit, which includes flowers, a birch grove, flowering thicket, and meadow. The students are enjoying the process — as they complete the scale models and more of the built pieces, it becomes more real to them,” Hurley-Kurtz said. “Students in the (Horticulture) Directed Studies course are forcing plants in preparation for the show and making final decisions on the plants that will ultimately be used. My hope is that every student involved feels that they have had a chance to design some element of this exhibit, from the trellis to the brochure.”
According to Adam, some the plants used for the exhibit take as many as nine weeks to force, while others take just two or three. The trick, he said, is to ensure that all of the plants reach their peak just in time for the Flower Show.
“There are a number of spring and woodland phlox being used this year in addition to several medicinal plants, such as echinacea,” he said. “I think one of the terrific aspects of this exhibit is that it is a window into history represented through the plants.”
Students are meeting deadlines each week on some aspect of the project, added Dr. Lolly Tai, Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture.
 “They are learning how to manage a project from inception to completion, from the initial design concept and research to construction,” she said. “The real world experience our students enjoy through the Flower Show and other community-oriented projects each year is essential.”
The hands-on approach the design build studio takes to the Flower Show and other projects “is one of the most important experiences I’ve gotten out of Temple,” said Katie Oshana, a Landscape Architecture junior.
“Most colleges don’t offer this kind of experience. You can do anything on a piece of paper, but you won’t know if it will work in the real world,” she said. “When you actually go and build it, it gives you more of a sense of what is actually possible.”
Elizabeth Vecchione, a senior Landscape Architecture student, is involved in both sides of the project, the design and the planting, having taken part in the design studio in addition to being involved in directed studies with Sinclair Adam, attaining and forcing plants for the exhibit.
“You always have back-up plants — for trees you have at least one, for perennials and shrubs you should have three to five — as sometimes you will have to replace them mid-show,” she said. “The great part about this project is the real-world experience. You get to see the project all the way through and learn about all of the different aspects that will ensure its success.”
Carey said at the conclusion of the Flower Show, the Healing Gardens exhibit will not simply be taken down. The concepts of the exhibit will potentially find a permanent home at Ambler in a similar fashion to the Sustainable Wetland Garden, which was inspired by the 1997 Flower Show exhibit, The Green Machine.
“As there is no example of a healing garden here, we are hoping to bring it back to campus. It is part of the proposed master plan for the arboretum,” she said. “Students would be directly involved in the installation.”
Temple University Ambler is dedicated to promoting sustainable communities, effective land use, and environmental awareness. Students can choose from a B.S. and M.S. in Community and Regional Planning; B.S., A.S., or credit certificate programs in Horticulture; or a B.S. in Landscape Architecture. Students may begin over 100 Temple undergraduate programs and complete a variety of degree programs in areas such as liberal arts, business, education, communications, and nursing at Ambler.
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