Leadership Section 

         Hospital gardens will provide patients with beautiful natural views that can reduce stress and provide a space for meditation,  reflection, and prayer within the hospital. It is important for all patients to have space within in the hospital in which they are able to sit in a calm environment. The calming environment of gardens creates a relaxing space for both the patients and their families to destress in the stressful hospital environment. The hospital setting is often extremely traumatic and taxing. The stressful environment of the hospital has the ability to effect the healing process of the patients (Franklin 2012). The addition of gardens also has the ability to aid in mental healing of the hospital staff as well as the patients (Franklin 2012). The mental health benefit of the gardens provides a healthy space for all patients at the hospital including heart disease patients. The physical beauty of the garden will be designed to address spiritual and mental well-being. In addition to the beauty of the plants, some of the plants planted will also include produce or food.

           The fresh produce created by the garden will provide patients with healthy and fueling food options to help health the body through food. The gardens will provide healthy produce in which healthy meals will be created for patients. This is especially important for cardiovascular patients because a healthy diet is known to help lower cholesterol and weight among many other benefiting factors. A plant based diet can have powerful effects on the human body. The produce grown in the gardens will be cooked and served to the patients within the hospital. Ideally enough produce will be produced from the garden in order to provide three healthy meals each day to all patients. Served with the meal will include a small card explaining the nutritional value of the food the patient is consuming along with the benefits to the patient’s health. Healthy plant-based food has the ability to heal the body from the inside out. The meals will be designed to heal the boy and taste amazing.

          The outdoor and indoor garden spaces will also provide space for patients to take walks. Taking a walk to get some exercise is extra important for people with heart disease. Doctors could even prescribe heart disease patients with a garden walk as part of their treatment on their path to healing. In addition since the gardens will need to maintained, patients would be able to sign up for garden shifts. This would give patients that are able an opportunity to help out. 

Combined with the delicious taste of the healthy meals, the educational component of healthy lifestyle choices, and exercise opportunity, the gardens at the hospital would provide natural healing to both heart disease patients and other patients at the hospital. It is my hope that the new environment created within the hospital with the addition of the gardens would spark patients interest passively about healthy lifestyle changes in order to improve their overall health. The garden would peacefully treat all aspects of health including mental, spiritual, and physical, and naturally education patients on healthy lifestyle choices.