Healing Gardens are the topic of a terrific article in Landscape Architecture Magazine. Mind, Soul, Design focuses on the concept of designing gardens for healing. Virginia Burt, FASLA was seeking more depth and meaning to this topic. Landscaping that incorporated functionality to help healthy human interaction was something that captured her attention. Healing gardens aid us in the processing of the less than palatable things in life. A garden designed with purpose can certainly help heal what derails our joy. Already working with this mindset, Virginia’s design work is considered to have a sort of “emotional intelligence”.
Virginia Burt’s work has been celebrated by receiving numerous awards such as the 2017 National Award of Excellence by the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, 2017 Honor Award by the Ohio Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects, the 2017 Presidents Award by the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects and the 2017 Acanthus Award by the Chicago-Midwest and Ohio Lake Erie Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, to name a few.
Paying attention to the finer points of how our gardens affect us has allowed Virginia to successfully create healing gardens. While all gardens are healing gardens, she has and continues to practice and support the research which embraces this theory. The concept of functionality in the garden is key. All parts must work or it is just a pretty design, without purpose. Even when the plants are decided for a design, Virginia has been known to be a zone pusher. Making sure that any plant chosen can not just survive, but will thrive in less than suitable conditions.
I love Virginia’s concept that nonfunctional beauty in the garden, is just good. The real beauty of the garden is discovered when it has a proven function. Virginia Burt understands the importance of how gardens should be designed to include not just people, but art and nature as well. I hope to possibly visit some of the gardens designed by Virginia Burt in the future. To find out more about the work of Virginia Burt, click here.
Looking forward to discovering more women in Landscape, Horticulture, Landscape Architecture, and Design as I celebrate Women’s History Month!
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