What is the evidence for the impact of gardens and gardening on health and well-being: a model to guide healthcare strategy decision making on the use of gardening approaches and social prescription

Gardening improves health and wellbeing, according to a study published by Howarth et al 2020, which identified 77 publications reporting the effect of gardening or gardens on health and wellbeing. The studies were performed in 7 different countries including the UK, the US, Brazil, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and the Netherlands. Thirteen of the publications were reviews of other studies. A range of different types of garden were studied including allotment gardening (8 studies) and community gardens (11 studies), and the most common activities were horticultural therapy (17 studies) and structured gardening (17 studies). Although the design of the studies was very heterogeneous, the overall results indicated that gardening was associated with improvements in mental wellbeing, increased physical activity and reduced social isolation.

Howarth M, et al 2020. What is the evidence for the impact of gardens and gardening on health and well-being: a scoping review and evidence-based logic model to guide healthcare strategy decision making on the use of gardening approaches as a social prescription. BMJ Open. 9;10(7)

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