The benefits for our mental health and wellbeing of both gardening and having a closer connection with nature are now widely acknowledged.
For many this came to light in 2020, during the Covid pandemic and successive lockdowns. However, the link has been understood for far longer: both the Buddha and the ancient Stoic school of philosophy in ancient Greece identified that attuning with the seasons and the natural world was necessary for a full life.
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Our biochemical make-up is affected by time spent gardening. This happens in various ways, including through sunshine, which helps raise our vitamin D levels; exercise, which raises our endorphin levels, giving us a natural high; and because cortisol – our stress hormone – is reduced when we are in the garden.
All these chemical changes have a beneficial impact on our mood. We also know that serotonin and dopamine levels are increased within the brain after gardening. These are both neurotransmitters: messengers in our brains that improve our mood and give us a sense of accomplishment. Modern antidepressants are designed to have the same effect.
Skin deep?
One means by which serotonin levels increase may be through skin contact with the soil. Here, there are billions of different bacteria, and one is called Mycobacterium vaccae.
Research at the Royal Marsden hospital in 2004 found that while injected (heat-killed) M. vaccae had no beneficial impact on life expectancy in lung cancer patients (not such a mad idea as you might think, since it had previously been shown to be effective on patients with tuberculosis), it did have a significant benefit on their quality of life. Levels of stress and anxiety were reduced, even as they approached the end of their lives, and depression was lifted. Another mechanism that has an impact is simply being surrounded by vegetation.
A 2018 study in The Lancet analysed the relative green-ness of the environment in which people live, using something called the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index. A greener environment was consistently protective against depression, and this effect was most pronounced in women, the under sixties, and in more urban or more deprived areas in the UK.
A 2020 study in Boston, USA, showed improved levels of emotional wellbeing in people with schizophrenia when they were looking at green foliage, and Roger Ulrich showed that paintings on the walls of a Swedish psychiatric hospital were often vandalised, but only if they were of abstract images, not if they were landscapes.
The nature switch
The Stress Reduction Theory proposed by Ulrich in the 1990s demonstrates that we prefer to look at natural scenes, and when we do it temporarily alters our psychology by reducing the flight/fight stress response of our nervous system. Additionally, the Attention Restoration Theory proposed by Kaplan and Kaplan in 1989 describes how looking at (or being in) nature allows us to switch off a bit and reboot. This
aids concentration in cognitive testing, as well as reducing perceived stress. All very relatable to our experiences in lockdown.
Our senses are stimulated by gardening and nature, as well as how the microbiome interacts with our bodies. When we walk into a garden, whether we’re working on it, pottering or simply being in it, the rich symphony of stimulation to our senses, our skin, our gut and the whole of our internal physiology combines to enhance our wellbeing and improve our mental health.
Social networks
We love to share our gardens. For a small number, this can be through formal openings such as for the National Garden Scheme, but there’s something truly generous about a well-tended front garden, as passers-by often benefit more than the gardener or resident.
A 2019 study on a Salford terraced street measured the impact of improving front gardens. Residents of this deprived and somewhat fragmented community were provided with planters and an ornamental tree to place in their small front gardens. The outcome was extraordinary: not only did people feel better able to deal with stress, and had improved patterns of cortisol release, but they also started to use their front gardens as a means of self-expression. They had an increased sense of belonging and connection with the other residents of the street, and started to take pride in their homes, their street and their community.
Take back control
Personal philosophy is the last dimension that I want to mention. In the context of a world that seems to pull and push us in directions that we may not like or want, our houseplants, balconies, allotments and gardens allow us to regain a sense of control. Not only can we create our own small piece of paradise – a personal space and a refuge – but we can preserve a sense of self, which enables us to make a statement to the world.
Working hand-in-hand with nature, growing our own food or creating a beautiful garden is not only good for the environment and nourishing for our bodies and our souls, but it’s also empowering. Collectively, we gardeners can have a massive impact on many of the problems we all face, and in doing so we can maintain a sense of mental wellbeing that will equip us well for whatever the future holds.