I grew up mostly outdoors surrounded by plants. Our house sat on a hill covered with blueberry bushes, daffodils, flowering crabapple trees, and an asparagus patch. I spent those years playing in the orchard behind the house, exploring nearby brooks, and scouring the woods for salamanders and other treasures. Some of my best memories were when my parents packed up the car with us kids and a picnic lunch and headed to a local state park. There, we hiked wooded trails, explored waterfalls, or kicked around a soccer ball. As an adult, when I’m stressed and struggling with the realities of life, my default is to go outdoors. Plants and forests and burbling brooks are what pull me off the ledge.
I understand the power that nature has, specifically plants and trees, to heal. Here are a few ways they can improve your health:
–Food. The Chinese say that food is medicine that you get to eat three times a day. This is especially true if most of your food comes from plants, in the form of fruits and vegetables. Nutrients from the soil are delivered to you through plants. Through your digestion, those plants are converted to 
energy and nutrients that your body needs to power every system in your body and propel you through life. You could say that plants are the conduit between the Earth and every cell in your body. (Eating animal protein is also a conduit, but indirectly. The nutrients make a few more stops and tend to be altered in the process.)
–Gardening. Along with being medicine you eat, growing food, flowers, or herbs is good for your soul. There’s something so fulfilling about watching tiny sprouts pop through the soil in the spring, or seeing the seedlings that you started indoors take off and actually produce tomatoes or peppers. In addition, getting your hands dirty in the garden also actually helps boost your immune system. All those microbes in the dirt only serve to make you hardier and more resistant to outside invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, and allergens.
–Aromatherapy. The smell of lilacs blooming, fresh cut grass, or newly picked basil all have distinctive smells which affect your brain in different ways. And smell is considered the strongest sense when it comes to evoking memories. The theory behind aromatherapy is that different scents are used for different purposes based on how they affect you. Lavender is relaxing and promotes sleep. Citrus scents are uplifting and energizing, and floral scents are calming. Eucalypts, such as mint or menthol open up your sinuses. The power of smell to heal may be subtle, but it is also effective.
–Herbs. Many herbs, whether Chinese or otherwise, are the basis for a number of medications on the market today. Researchers and drug companies are exploring what the ancient Chinese have known for millennia; herbs are medicine with a powerful ability to heal. Many of those herbs are growing right outside your door. For example, mint can benefit your eyes, calm irritability, and soothe your liver. The bitter and cold properties of dandelion can help to clear heat, and can also be used for urinary tract infections. Chrysanthemum flowers drunk as a tea are good if you have a cold or the flu, especially if you’re running a fever. They can calm down red, dry, and painful eyes, and can soothe headaches and dizziness.
–Outdoor therapy. Also known as forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku by the Japanese, dozens of research studies have documented that getting outside and spending time in nature is good for your health. Scientists have discovered that outdoor therapy can lower your blood pressure, decrease your stress, improve your immunity, and ward off depression. One of the theories as to why walking in the woods has health benefits is because there are subtle scents given off in nature, most notably from evergreens, but from other trees and plants as well. The effects of spending time outside is so compelling that some doctors are now writing nature prescriptions—instructions to spend time in a local park or woods.
My back deck looks out over a small oak forest. I watch the seasons change through the lens of these woods. Throughout the year I can hear owls, wild turkeys, and songbirds that are sheltered by the trees. For me, sitting on the deck and looking out into the forest is therapeutic. It’s calming after a busy day and good for my soul. And it’s a testament to the healing power of plants.
