Introduction The routine of a typical weekday morning is interrupted, our attention caught by conversational voices on the radio. The intimate stories told by these anonymous people cause us to smile, to marvel, and sometimes to weep. Public radio employs the simple yet enduring medium of storytelling to illuminate and awaken. As they unfold in all their individuality, the stories we hear there--of resilience, acceptance, and devotion in the face of adversity--communicate the human struggle to overcome inequity, trauma, illness, or even fate; they draw generations together, to preserve the roots of a culture and nurture a sense of pride and belonging; they reveal a deeper understanding of human experience and document the power of place to shape our perspectives and life journeys. In listening, not just hearing, we bear witness to extraordinary displays of empathy, compassion, strength, courage, determination, and forgiveness. Each emotionally inspiring story illustrates the depth of humanity, rekindled by trying circumstances. In the course of our work, we have discovered similar stories, stories shared while in the garden, by those with cancer, HIV/AIDS, physical challenges, or mental illness; by veterans, inmates, or the homeless; by the survivors of ethnic cleansing and torture; by the elderly facing the end of life. Each and every storyteller offers poignant examples of what nature means to him or her.

It is what therapists hear and witness every day in the garden from those experiencing trauma, injury, and illness. Shared through intimate conversations, these stories provide motivation to design and evaluate therapeutic or healing gardens, to document further their benefits, and to educate people about them. The garden is sanctuary, a place to grieve and escape, to regain focus, hope, and strength, or to reconnect with family or one's former self. These gardens are not only relevant for those in hospitals, senior care facilities, or medical clinics; they also serve populations in need at schools, prisons, and community gardens. Gardens can and do restore our state of health. They have the capacity to restore the body, mind, and spirit; and based on a growing body of evidence-based research, this can be said with conviction and proof. If being in a garden positively contributes to the healing and restorative process, who is it that needs a therapeutic garden and why? Many people who have experienced the benefits of gardens and nature will tell you that everyone needs a therapeutic garden. Others believe that people who are clinically unwell in body or mind are the only ones in need of a therapeutic garden.

We believe that everyone needs easy access and proximity to nature and deserves this sacred connection that affords significant health benefits. Humans are hardwired to connect with the natural world. We have an evolutionary need to affiliate with nature. Originally, it was key to our survival; it is now part of our humanity. While everyone needs and deserves safe, easy, and unencumbered access to healing nature, we return to a central question: is every garden a therapeutic garden? For now, consider this simple yet eloquent quote: "Gardens are where people and the land come together in the most inspiring way" (Rodale 1987). Some key words here--"people," "land," "come together," "inspiring"--will factor significantly in ongoing discussions about therapeutic gardens and the lives of those who are nourished by them. Being in nature has the capacity to bring people together, mediate social strife, renew one's energy and capacity, and nourish the senses. As humans, we find inspiration and consolation in nature; we grow stronger, learn, reflect, and refocus in the refuge it provides.