Gardens, Mental Health and Wellbeing

The need has never been more urgent. Poor mental health is reported to be the largest single cause of disability worldwide. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organisation estimated that 1 in 10 people globally suffer from a mental disorder (WHO 2019).

Far more people suffer from poor mental wellbeing that does not reach clinical severity, but still limits human happiness and fulfilment. The pandemic has increased levels of anxiety, distress low mood in both children and adults. Stretched health services and the social isolation caused by government restrictions or ‘lockdown’ measures have made also made it even harder for people to access the help they need. 

Green spaces, including gardens, offer a place of sanctuary and healing.  A study by the University of Exeter and the Royal Horticultural Society found that people who spend time in a domestic garden are significantly more likely to report general good health, better  psychological wellbeing and greater physical activity levels than those who do not.  

The benefits apply whether people spend their time gardening or simply relaxing. Dr Sian de Bell, lead author of the study, said: “whilst being able to access an outdoor space such as a garden or yard is important, using that space is what really leads to benefits for health and wellbeing” (Landscape and Urban Planning, 2020). This highlights the importance of private gardens alongside communal green space in housing planning.     

A British Medical Journal review of thirty-years of global research into the impacts of gardens and gardening on health has shown links between gardens and improved mental wellbeing, increased physical activity and a reduction in social isolation. The review provided health strategy guidance to help refer people with long term health conditions to socially-prescribed, non-clinical interventions involving gardening and gardens (BMJ, 2020). 

Such interventions could also reduce the financial burden on health services. In 2020, a National Ecosystem Assessment calculated that living with a regular view of a green space can provide health benefits worth £300 per person per year (NERC, 2020).

Gardens offer a mix of ‘prospect’ and ‘refuge’. Unlike wild areas such as woodlands, gardens are enclosed and may be less likely to be perceived as being claustrophobic, creating a sense of safety. 

Common mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression can be characterised by repetitive thoughts and behaviours, and ‘black and white thinking’. The immersive and sensory stimuli of the garden – the sounds, smells and sights – may help to disrupt these thought patterns.

Perhaps unsurprisingly then, there has been a sharp rise in engagement with gardens during the COVID-19 pandemic. At a time of isolation, gardens offer the promise of contact with something real, something living. 

As garden centres were overwhelmed with the demand for seeds and bulbs, so too were gardens with the appetite for visitors. During extended periods of lockdown in 2020, when many leisure and social amenities such as shopping centres, museums, restaurants and sporting venues were closed, botanic gardens and arboreta were permitted to remain open for exercise and wellbeing benefits. They were a refuge for local communities.

Before the pandemic struck, OBGA had begun to place greater focus on wellbeing. A regular programme of events at the sites focusses on wellbeing, incorporating utilising the unique elements of green spaces and nature- and heritage-inspired backdrops. 

These include forest bathing (or Shinrin-Yoku), a Japanese tradition that connects all the human senses with nature, in particular through yin yoga, meditation and mindful walking.

Meanwhile aromatherapy sessions use plants to demonstrate the mood spectrum: citrus for invigoration, rose and geranium for self-love and nurture, finishing with lavender for relaxation.

Many of these activities have been tailored as technology-free stress-soothers for students living in the pressured academic environment of Oxford. 

A key future focus for OBGA will be to collaborate with scientists at the University of Oxford's Department of Psychiatry and NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre to carry out research into the impact of green space has on mental health and wellbeing.

The “living laboratory” will enable us to to measure effects on emotion and cognition and to quantify therapeutic effects. As we know, green spaces have been factored into our urban landscapes inadequately. Now, our research-led approach will help us understand for example, what to plant, at what scale, and where; what ‘dose of green’ is needed?

We have long recognised that nature is ‘good for us’ but its effects can be difficult to quantify. As human populations become more urbanised we are losing access to green space, and this is impacting people’s mental health. This will become a growing problem with increasing deforestation and climate change.  change. We need to address the need for greater access to nature and green spaces.