New Jersey is the first state, and the only state in the nation to designate the third full week in March “Horticultural Therapy Week” through Senate Joint Resolution Number 12 signed by Governor Chris Christie in 2015. (Photo: ~Courtesy of Final Touch Plantscaping)

Horticulture Therapy Week is Next Week! – Laura Deprado’s latest article featured in https://www.mycentraljersey.com/ talks about the “People-Plant Connection” and discusses the benefits and effectiveness of using Horticulture for therapy:

“Horticultural therapy provides an opportunity for people to experience meaningful contact with plants and the living soils that support life on earth. It has proven to be a time-tested activity with beneficial and therapeutic efficacy. It is widely used within a broad range of rehabilitative, vocational and community settings.”

You can view the full article here.

View and download the PDF

The November landscape is rich with materials for a cornucopia of projects in purposeful and meaningful activities in horticultural therapy.
(Photo: ~Courtesy of Laura DePrado)

Laura Deprado uses Gardening for Therapy to help people across New Jersey. Laura is a Horticultural Therapist, and her article “November’s garden offers a cornucopia of plants for the senses” was recently featured in https://www.mycentraljersey.com/

November is here. We watch the colorful leaves fall from trees into piles on the ground to be raked laboriously to the curb or bagged for pick up. What remains of the woodland landscape are silhouettes of trees and shrubs with a color of evergreen trees that offer a view of green comfort.  (more…)

Bert Baron of WCTC interviews New Jersey Horticultural Therapist – Laura DePrado from Final Touch Plantscaping for his in-studio podcast.

Listen here and learn why Horticultural Therapy is so beneficial! 

Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead has deployed a mobile cart therapeutic gardening program fresh with seasonal plants to engage the five senses of sight, sounds, taste, touch and smell.
(Photo: ~Courtesy of Carrier Clinic)

Gardening while in recovery, offers evidenced-based benefits for behavioral health. Laura DePrado developed a program using a therapeutic mobile cart to promote wellness and recovery at Carrier Clinic in NJ.

People have long realized that plants and gardens, and the very acts of gardening and growing produce countless healthful benefits for human beings.  (more…)

With shorter days and changing temperatures upon us, we will spend less time connecting to nature and outdoor gardening activities. (Photo: ~Courtesy of Laura DePrado)

Horticultural Therapist, Laura Deprado and her article “Horticultural Therapy: As seasons change, it’s important to continue to connect with nature” was recently featured in https://www.mycentraljersey.com/.

The end of summer is here. Blooming flowers are tired and looking like they have thrown in the trowel. Summer plants of annuals and perennials, withered, worn and fatigued, make way for the new harvest: A cornucopia of mums, pansies, and fall annuals and perennials taking to the field. 

We, the consumers, respond to the seasonal rhythms and cycles of plants, and plants in turn respond to our care. The cooler evenings are a reminder the harvest is here. We gather. We harvest. Our forefathers’ winter survival depended on the harvest for their survival. (more…)

For the first time in its 45-year history, Middle Earth introduced Horticultural Therapy program in partnership with Horticultural Therapist Laura DePrado, president of Final Touch Plantscaping LLC, Branchburg.
(Photo: ~Courtesy of Middle Earth)

For the past 45 years, Middle Earth, a nonprofit agency serving at risk youths in Somerset County, has served almost 1,000 youths through 12 mentoring, education, employment readiness and college readiness programs.

For the first time this year, a horticultural therapy program sprouted through a new partnership with me, as horticultural therapist and president of Final Touch Plantscaping, of Branchburg. The horticultural therapy workshops in the Art House Initiative Program were made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. A series of workshops took place at the Bound Brook Community Youth Center throughout May and June. Youth from Middle Earth’s Promise, Center, and Journeys programs participated. Promise is a probation-based program for youth. Center is open to all Somerset County youth ages 12 to 18, and Journeys is a program for youth who need more intensive life skills and mentoring.

(more…)