Plant Power

Elizabeth Shin
UC Davis undergraduate,  4th year
Major: Landscape Architecture

New seeds and fresh soil from the garden

I never liked plants when I was younger. To me, they were obstacles on hiking paths,
homes for bugs, and potential for skin rashes. I’m brought back to one memory as a child, when my brother accidentally touched poison ivy. He was practically unrecognizable by the time our hike was finished, his skin bumpy and red and his eyes swollen shut, a gross red monster in my eyes. I was so frightened by the sight of him that I even refused to sit next to him on the drive home.

As I’ve grown older, I realize that I might have been a little dramatic as a child. But I also have come to appreciate and recognize the power of plants. This internship in particular was like a breath of fresh air in contrast to the cyclical routine of my school life, waking up, spending hours inside classrooms and computer labs, then going back home to sleep. My time spent researching the best crops for our garden beds, purchasing plants at various nurseries, planting the vegetables and fruits, and even pulling out weeds has rejuvenated my love for plants that was dimmed during the school year.
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This past week, I took out my third loan in order to pay for my college tuition. I was filled with anxiety about my finances, wondering how I would be able to pay this off or if my education was worth it. This past week also happened to be when we started planting in our garden beds. As I sat in the sun, lifting out plants from pots, breaking apart the soil, and placing them in a prepared hole, I felt a sense of calm that I was not able to experience in other parts of my life. While part of the Calisi Lab’s investigations of the therapeutic benefits of Green Care includes studying horticulture-human positive interactions, I never thought that I would be able to experience this myself. Even though I don’t fully understand why plants are so therapeutic, I am one of many who can testify about the healing properties that plants have. I’m so excited to share this experience with others, and I hope visitors will have a similar experience as me!