i thought rock wool was good for seed starting...don't know about growing. how about starting african violets? the fluorescent lighting may be good enough. they can start in vermiculite instead of soil.

There are lots of plants that will do well in that setting-including most of your low light houseplants- cast iron plant, peace lily, sanseveria... I am a physical therapist, and I am assuming you are a recreational therapist or maybe an OT-something like that. WHy is potting soil not OK? Is there a concern re: airborne particles or something like that or do you not want to make the mess?

Yes, I am an occupational therapist. I have been "encouraged" not to use soil or similar mixtures because of the dust and particles becoming airborne. Not really an infection control issue but a vent "breathing" issue. Not sure if it is warranted but thought I would try using water as a rooting medium and explore hydroponics.

I am surprized that all plants and moist media are not banned. I know in the ICU I workd at no plants or cut flowers were allowed at all. Hydropnics sounds interesting and I do not know anything about it, but I would encourage you to check out the possibilty of molds or other organisms living in the water. I would expect that molds would be far more dangerous than airborne soil dust. Have you considered a sealed environment? I am remembering a few years ago when catalogs were advertising little ecosystems in glass globes.

When you say sealed environment, are you talking about terrariums? Our patients are not restricted from having plants or flowers - only limited by space. We are an LTACH -Long Term Acute Care Hospital - where our primary emphasis is vent weaning. I would be curious to know which, if any, molds that would grow in water would actually become airborne and pose a threat to patients. Many of patients are not on vents but are bedbound due to mutliple trauma and other reasons.

A long tern activity could be a rasing butterflies in a small fish tank. Monarchs should be in the area soon if not already and it would be something that could be watched. It's amazing. Look on the Monarch Watch web site. Everybody will be so interested in it. I've done it and made a big exhibit out of the proccess. The release is also a fun if there's a window in the room.

It is good to hear that the ICU rules do not apply for your patients. The sealed environments I was talking about were not terariums, but were simple organisms added to water. The oxygen is limited to what is in the glass when it is sealed, and the organisms are chosen to provide what the others need, like a little "organic soup" that shows how life develops and grows.

I thought that any molds and mildews sent out spores and was concerned about how that would affect those with lung injury. It is good to know that not all vent patients must have such a clean environment.

We definitely have a concern about molds and organisms in patients rooms during vent weaning. However, a single plant in a small amount of water would probably pose no threat as long as the water remained clean. In fact, some plants are supposed to help improve the oxygen content in the air. Rarely do our respiratory folks not allow fresh flowers or plants in a patients room. The plants are ususally not close to the patients.

I am intrigued by the idea about butterflies and will investigate the time and maintenance involved.

These links are about hydroponic gardening. The use of hydrogen peroxide would probably solve your problem about molds & bacteria. The other link is a company that specializes in equipment for hydroponics. They develop & modify systems. If you contact them they should be able to help you. Good luck, it sounds like a great idea.
The American Horticultural Therapy Association is a good place to start also.

http://www.ahta.org/

http://www.quickgrow.com/gardening_articles/hydrogen_peroxide_horticulture.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Hydroponics

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED TILLISANDRA (AIR) PLANTS? THEY COME IN LOTS OF FORMS & EVEN HAVE LOVELY BLOOMS UNDER PROPER CONDITIONS... MOST ARE STUCK ON CERAMIC PLANTERS & MISTED OR SOAKED EVERY SO OFTEN...THEY ARE DISTANTLY RELATED TO PINEAPPLES & SPANISH MOSS, BUT DON'T LOOK LIKE EITHER OF THOSE!

There is a product that looks like clear crystals. You add water and it swells up into a gel. You can add fertilizer to it and you can see the root system as it grows. It acts (for the plant) just like soil. I apologize for not being able to tell you what it is called or where to find it. Maybe if you have that description someone else will recognize it. I do remember that it was expensive. I have moved so many times in the last few years that I have lost the name and address for this 'stuff'. I can tell you that the plants did very well in it. You might also try a florist shop to see if they know what it is.

There are some reference books on the Chicago Botanic Garden site for gardening in healthcare situations. Perhaps they would be of help. You may want to also try calling the Chicago Botanic Garden, although you are in a different area. The people are nice there and hopefully can help for such a good cause. http://www.chicagobotanic.org/therapy/HortTherapyResources.html

A very dear friend (fellow gardener) sent a soft sculpture, plush flower to the ICU when I was on a vent. It was the hit of the party (as the nurses called it). The wire in the stem made it able to bend around the bar on my bed. You are absolutely on the right track! There were times when using a focal point was a great coping mechanism. The humanism aspect was equally important. From a practical stand point, the object would have to be very close to the patient to be therapeutic. As a Mom, I like the idea of adding comforting elements to the ICU. It is a very scary place for younger family members to visit. As a former ICU patient, thank you for efforts to bring humanism to a traumatic situation.
Soft sculpture flowers:
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