This month, Lorraine of Oldwick achieved 430 horticultural therapy sessions and continues to engage with flowers and plants in her indoor ‘garden’ since May 2013

Lorraine of Oldwick is 90 years old.

This month, she achieved 430 horticultural therapy sessions and continues to engage with flowers and plants in her indoor “garden” since May 2013. She is getting nature inside. She has created countless flower arrangements, propagated plants by cuttings and division, and started and nurtured vegetables, herbs and annuals from seed. (more…)

The sound of residents and staff sharing and communing, among the cornucopia of plant material filled the air during the Horticultural Therapy program known as “Green Thumbs.”
(Photo: ~Courtesy of Laura DePrado)

BOONTON – The intoxicating fragrance of lavender filled the auditorium of the New Jersey Firemen’s Home (NJFH) in Boonton.

The sound of residents and staff sharing and communing, among the cornucopia of plant material filled the air during the Horticultural Therapy program known as “Green Thumbs.” It is here that people and plants connect without judgment to the bounty of the season’s harvest. Everyone is successful. Everyone is engaged. Green thumbs are not required to sow meaning, purpose, creative expression, and fun.

It is not the finished projects, but the process along that way that offers benefits and countless positive experiences through customized activities and projects designed for all abilities.

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Plants to attract special visitors to the garden are must. Considering the hummingbird in your plant choices will offer great reward and countless hours of fun distraction.

Nature and plants are alive and dynamic. The sensory garden offers spontaneous and endless moments that allow us freedom to be and accepted without judgement.

Plants and birds can calm or stimulate the senses. Nature accepts us no matter our mood, or our circumstance.

Do you see the Swallowtail and other butterflies? Consider your plant selection.

Colors, textures, sizes, shapes, fragrances and movement offer endless opportunities in sensory experiences of the past, the present and the future for anyone and everyone.

Plan for birds with food and water source. Birds eat, play, drink, eat pest and enjoy the “pecking order”.

The Swallow Tail, New Jersey Butterfly

Andrzejcak said, “I didn’t know anything about horticultural therapy when I got home. I discovered that HT existed, and being in the Assembly and supporting NJ Horticultural Therapy Week to build awareness, I saw its benefits. It’s great and it is a no-brainer. This should have been done a long time ago.” (Photo: ~Courtesy of Assembly Office of Bob Andrzejczak)

Andrzejczak’s hospital room was filled with flowers, plants and cards and it took away from his gloom and the gloominess of the sterile room.

U.S. Army Sergeant Bob Andrzejczak was in charge of providing security as the Rear Gunner sitting in a turret, covering the rear of the entire convoy when they were attacked with an armor-piercing grenade during his second deployment 2008 in Bayjim, Iraq.

In an attempt to save his men while on patrol driving down Market Street, Andrzejczak unhinged himself from his harness and crawled to the back of the truck to make sure all his men were okay. He was the only one severely wounded. He knew it was bad, but his priority was to let everyone know that he was okay. He was flown to Walter Reed hospital in Washington, D.C., where he underwent seven surgeries. He lost his leg in the first two weeks and spent months there on the arduous journey to recovery.

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