
Flower Power: Hamilton’s Doctor and the Healing Power of Nature - diodorus
https://publicdomainreview.org/2019/01/24/flower-power-hamiltons-doctor-and-the-healing-power-of-nature/
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MisterOctober
Fascinating -- I'd known of Hosack from the duel story, but hadn't known he
was also a botanist and gardener. It's easy to forget that before the the 20th
century, nearly all medicines were derived from plants [exceptions being,
y'know, stuff like heavy metals].

Even putting aside the actual pharmacological effects of plants, there is an
undeniable therapeutic property in simply being in their midst [e.g., in a
garden]. Whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed or flummoxed, I meditate in my small
garden / orchard and begin feeling better straight away. I think it's
something to do with the fact that being in the midst of a little ecosystem
really creates a visceral feeling of being a part of something much bigger
than oneself. It provokes a sense of wonder. Kind of makes the quotidian
problems [debugging, say] seem less gargantuan.

