The healing power of gardens

In 2015, at age 48, Shawna Coronado was diagnosed with degenerative osteoarthritis. To ease her chronic pain, she began walking daily and turned to an anti-inflammatory diet, eliminating grains, dairy and sugar. Key to her healing: the herbs, fruits and veggies she planted in her garden.

A month later, her pain had eased by 80 percent. “I could walk without pain and I wasn’t hunched over,” she says. “It was amazing! I couldn’t have done it without my garden.” No longer sidelined by pain, Coronado compiled her best garden tips in a book, 101 Organic Gardening Hacks (Cool Springs, 2017; Paperback $20).