Healing Power of Roses on #rosechat radio

On Saturday morning, March 23, tune in to #rosechat radio and learn about the healing power of roses.  As a horticulture therapist, roses play an important role in my healing engaging activities.

Currently I work with seniors and roses play an important role in their memories.  What did the flower girl drop on the floor on their wedding day?  Rose petals.  What flowers did they get from their husbands for special occasions? Roses.  What parade did they watch every New Years Day?  The rose parade.  What was one of their favorite flowers to grow in their gardens?  Roses.

My residents love to hold a rose and the first thing they do is hold the flower to their nose.  I only grow the most fragrant roses.  As we age our senses diminish. Some seniors I work with have lost their sense of smell totally.

Over the years I have installed several rose gardens at nursing homes, independent senior living facilities and assisted living apartments, senior activity centers, day programs, and Alzheimer units.

The thorns can become a health hazard to those on blood thinners, diabetics, and the frail elderly.  Be careful where you plant them.  I like them to be close enough to have access but not in the way so they get scratched as they walk or wheel themselves by the bushes.

All the above roses are photos from my backyard garden.  I love growing roses and always have bud vases in the kitchen and bathrooms with roses in them.  The link below is for the rose radio broadcast.  You can catch it live or listen at your leisure at any time after the broadcast.  Click on the link below to listen.

Rose chat radio guest Robert Bornstein explains the healing powers of the rose.

Thank you for stopping by my blog and see you again soon.


Please subscribe to my YouTube channel for free!
Like my Robert's Tropical Paradise Garden
Subscribe to Miami Garden Reporter articles
Follow me on Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter.

How to make your garden therapeutic with white flowers

I used to yawn at white flowers in the garden.  Boring!  Bring on the color!  I changed my mind when I once saw a formal garden with only white flowering trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals.  The garden was understated and elegant.  Various shades of green sparkled with a dab  of white here, a splash of white there. 

There is therapeutic value in white flowers as well.  For the vision impaired, the white flowers “pop” at dusk.  The white flowers are similar to road reflectors on major highways.  The flowers act as a guide in the garden. They lead you in the right direction and can act as spotlights at nightfall.   Think of white flowers as a highlighter marker for a book. 

Too much white flowers during the day may hurt people with sensitive eyes.  People with blue eyes or macular degeneration need sunglasses for protection. White flowers work best with curves on a walkway as guideposts, or as a contrast to dark green leaves or as a low plant near a border.

This blog is written by a registered Horticulture Therapist with the American Horticulture Therapy Association.  To learn more visit here.

This YouTube video offers a brief explanation of how horticulture therapy heals. Please subscribe to my Garden/Food/Horticulture Therapy channel. Robert Bornstein on YouTube

Thank you for stopping by.  New next post will be about how to make a delicious mango smoothie!

Hope to see you also on twitter!

https://twitter.com/robbornstein
Miami Garden Reporter  Subscribe to my articles for free.
Facebook Garden Page   Please "Like" my page and watch us grow.
Robert's YouTube garden/food/fitness channel Subscribe for free to my new video 

Back from vacation, time to work in the garden

Vacations heal the mind body and spirit, as does horticulture therapy. I have been on  holiday and realize it is long overdue to fill you all in.

The garden has always been a tropical jungle.  Now it is a truly an untamed paradise.  I have lots to prune, weed, and organize.  Winter annuals have perished in their pots and need to be replaced with heat tolerant colorful summer flowers.  Large branches from trees and shrubs need to be pruned.  Over grown volunteer plants need to be removed from where ever they have germinated.  Fallen leaves need to be raked up.  As the days get longer and the heat gets stronger, gardening will be limited to early in the day or late in the day.

Here are the fruit trees all competing for space.  From left to right, Carambola, Orange and Mango. There are also more fruit trees behind these.  There is a fig, sugar apple and papaya as well.
It is nice to be back home.  No matter where I am and how great of a time I am having, I always miss being in my garden.  Please follow me on https://twitter.com/robbornstein
Miami Garden Reporter  Subscribe to my articles for free.
Facebook Garden Page   Please "Like" my page and watch us grow.
Robert's YouTube garden/food/fitness channel Subscribe for free to my new video channel on YouTube