Courses:
Trellis: Professional Development Award, Developing Professional Practice in Therapeutic Horticulture,SCQF Level 7 (awaiting approval, plan to start teaching 2025-26 in conjunction with 2 Scottish Colleges). Sign up for updates here.
Horticulture Therapy Institute, USA https://www.htinstitute.org/ Certificate Programme accredited by the US Association, the AHTA, comprises Fundamentals of HT followed by HT Techniques, HT Programming and HT Management.
University of Florida https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/colleges-schools/UGAGL/AGL_UCT12/ another AHTA accredited certificate course. Research and applied knowledge partnership with Wilmot Botanic Garden which runs comprehensive Therapeutic Horticulture programmes for a wide range of client groups https://wilmotgardens.med.ufl.edu/programming-2/about-therapeutic-horticulture-at-uf/
German language courses at various universities in Europe, accredited by the IGGT: https://www.iggt.eu/en/home.html
Thrive diploma: https://www.thrive.org.uk/get-training/diploma-in-social-and-therapeutic-horticulture-non-ofqual-registered
North Carolina Botanic Garden online course: Online Certificate in Therapeutic Horticulture - North Carolina Botanical Garden https://ncbg.unc.edu/engagement/therapeutic-horticulture/online-cth/ Devised and taught by friend of Trellis and experienced practitioner, Emilee Weaver this 6 week course is a good foundation.
Associations & registers:
UK – Association for Social and Therapeutic Horticulture (ASTH) – created by Trellis in association with Thrive. Stay in touch with the Professional Development Forum, and help shape the future register, quality standards and the Association that hosts it. Read about our work so far, the Code of Ethics, Practice Standards and Routes to Registration on our Professional development page.
USA - The American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) -The most established in the world and a reference for many other associations. https://www.ahta.org/
Germany – the IGGT - https://www.iggt.eu/en/registration.html A well established registration system and links to training courses at universities across the German speaking world.
Hong Kong - https://www.hkath.org/en/home/ HKATH – working to support the growth of the TH field, both in professionalism and in popularity. Training, support for professionals, research and promotion.
Japan - Japanese Society of People-Plant Relationships https://www.jsppr.jp/
Australia – Therapeutic Horticulture Australia (THA) – https://tha.org.au/ Training, support and promotion.
Spain - AEHJST - www.aehjst.org – the Spanish Association for Therapeutic Horticulture - Training courses, conferences, and seminars. Support to professionals and organizations.
Canada - https://chta.ca/ CHTA – registering body with links to education and resources.
Korea - Korean Horticultural and Well-Being Association https://garden.konkuk.ac.kr/sites/garden/files/17.pdf
Taiwan Horticultural Therapy Association http://www.thta.org.tw/
Databases:
Therapeutic Horticulture Activities Database (THAD) https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/therapeutic-horticulture-activities-database/ created in the USA by the University of Florida working together with several US TH networks – fantastic resource full of activity ideas tailored to different health needs and therapeutic goals – still in development but already so useful.
GarThePedia plant database https://www.iggt.eu/en/garthepedia.html developed by German therapeutic horticulturalists, lists an extensive range of plants with related activities, and relevant functional/therapeutic outcomes. Each plant record includes Latin and common names alongside any toxicology/allergy warnings, folklore, medicinal and culinary uses, and even cultural material such as poetry and song lyrics. Written in German originally but a programme of translation into English is underway.
Text books:
Horticultural Therapy Methods: Making Connections in Health Care, Human Service and Community Programs. Haller, R L & Capra, C L, (Eds), Taylor Francis 2008.
Rebecca Haller and Christina Capra are both actively involved as directors at the HTI in Denver, Colorado. A new edition will be published in 2025
Horticulture as Therapy: Principles and Practice, Sharon P Simson, Martha C Straus, CRC Press, 1998.
This book has sections on all disabilities, and ideas for therapeutic sessions.
Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence - Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces, by Clare Cooper Marcus & Naomi A Sachs, Wiley, 2014.
Designing outdoor spaces for people with dementia. Pollock, A and Marshall, M. (eds.) Dementia Services Development Centre, 2012
Designing balconies, roof terraces and roof gardens for people with dementia. Mary Marshall, Dementia Services Development Centre, 2010.
Digging for Victory: Horticultural Therapy with Veterans for Post-traumatic Growth, Joanna Wise, Karnac Books 2015.
E O Wilson, Biophilia
Evidence base:
Trellis research pages.
Florida horticulture for health network research pages https://www.flhhn.com/resource-hub.html
Networking Organisations:
Trellis – you’ve already found us! Sign up to stay connected with practitioners and peers in the field
Root in Nature – Canadian network https://rootinnature.ca/
THA – the Australian association also functions as a network https://tha.org.au/
World Therapeutic Horticulture Day, (WTHD) – we founded World TH Day partly to connect all the TH contacts we know around the world, and principally to raise awareness of the profession and its benefits. Join our World Day list if you’d like to be part of this big global network.
European network of TH representative organisations – contact us for more information and watch their video here.
Design guidance:
Trellis Adaptive Design factsheet, Tabletop raised bed and Gardening with dementia factsheets. Contact us to enquire about our training in this area.
AEHJST - www.aehjst.org the Founders of the Spanish association have developed excellent design criteria for therapeutic gardens – contact Trellis more information.
Designing Outdoor Spaces for People With Dementia by Annie Pollock (Editor), Mary Marshall (Editor), Dementia Services Development Centre, & Hammond Care
Visual impairment design guidance - Gardening Within Arm’s Reach by Hans Schuman – a design resource focused on garden spaces for visually impaired children, from the author’s experience in schools in the Netherlands. https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Gardening_Within_Arm_s_Reach.html?id=OSkAtwAACAAJ&redir_esc=y
Websites:
Florida Horticulture for Health Network https://www.flhhn.com/#/ – a superb resource full of news, ideas, well-organised research digests, events, and a valuable, free monthly newsletter, CHIVE Talking compiled by experienced horticulture therapists and teachers.
Happiness is in the Garden | The blog for all those who believe that the garden can heal those who suffer (lebonheurestdanslejardin.org) https://lebonheurestdanslejardin.org/
Root in Nature, https://rootinnature.ca/ Canadian organisation providing training, inspiration, document templates, practitioner networking and more with some services free or pay as you go and some via a membership scheme.