Horticultural Therapists

Horticultural therapists work in many different environments. City community gardens, classrooms, greenhouses, and hospital psychiatric wards are just a few of the settings. Work environments, therefore, can include being outdoors in the sun all day; being in a locked facility, such as for psychiatric patients or prisoners; being in warm, stuffy greenhouses; and being in an air-conditioned school. No matter where horticultural therapists work, though, they are in the business of helping people, and they spend most of their day interacting with others, such as clients, doctors, and volunteers. Because horticultural therapists try to create calm, safe environments for their clients, the environments they spend much of their time working in will be calm as well. They shouldn't mind getting a bit dirty during the course of the day; after all, they may need to demonstrate activities such as planting a row of seeds in wet soil.