While often overlooked, mental health challenges are not unique to the young or old, rural, or urban. It affects everyone at various seasons of life and in different ways and has certainly been more top of mind given the challenges of the past two years. In fact, according to a recent study conducted by Morning Consult and American Farm Bureau Federation, nearly 52% of rural adults and 61% farmers/farm workers reported they were experiencing more stress and mental health challenges compared to a year ago, and they are seeking care because of increased stress. In honor of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, it is important to acknowledge and talk about life’s stressors, while also sharing our industry’s story of the benefits of plants and gardening. Based on available studies and anticipated future research findings, there is no doubt that horticulture has and will only continue to have a positive impact on individuals dealing with mental health stressors.
Since 2003, there have been more than a dozen papers published reporting the positive effects of horticultural activities such as gardening. Drs. Charlie Hall and Melinda Knuth published an updated literature review detailing the multitude of research studies showing the importance of our industry in combating mental health triggers, feelings of isolation and loss of purpose through the plants and flowers consumers filled their homes with. Taking care of plants can reduce feelings of loneliness and depression in people — something that is, not surprisingly, very prevalent right now and during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Caring for plants provides a sense of purpose and distraction for many people, and it is rewarding mentally to see the plant you have cared for bloom and thrive.
Plants and gardening have proven to be helpful in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Participants described a range of benefits across emotional, social, vocational, physical, and spiritual domains. The United Kingdom and other European Countries have been studying the concept of “Ecotherapy – the green agenda for mental health” which they believe should be recognized and put into practice as a clinically valid treatment for patients dealing with mental health stressors. Over 130 projects throughout the UK have been funded to help support green mental health projects. Similar projects are being implemented world-wide such as the Therapeutic Landscapes Network and Farming for Health that have been focused on connecting stakeholders and sharing knowledge and experience.
The Horticultural Research Institute (HRI), the AmericanHort foundation, has four strategic research focus areas, one of which is studying the benefit of plants. In 2020, HRI funded a project at Kaiser Permanente called, “Finding the ‘Third Space’ through gardening: Strengthening relationship mutuality and lowering stress in the caregiver and care recipient who has a disabling injury or illness”. The project, led by Dr. A. Catlin at the Kaiser Permanente Rehabilitation Center, focused on the wellbeing of a caregiver and the therapeutic value of a shared gardening experience between the caregiver and the care recipient. This study’s findings will be published in an upcoming issue of The Journal of Environmental Horticulture.
Another project HRI is funding is by J. Hollander of Tufts University called, “Measuring the Benefits of Plants: Improved Cardiovascular Health and Well-being from Visual Exposure to Plants.” New research findings and tools in biometrics have advanced this field drastically and offer significant opportunities to better quantify the benefits of plants. These new tools dramatically improve understanding of how the unconscious human mind responds to plants and what that means for cardiovascular health and wellbeing. These technologies give us the means to compare horticultural elements in ways that were not possible before bringing complex data to bear to quantify the benefits of plants.
The pandemic has only added to the stress created by unpredictable weather, increasing input costs, and supply chain disruption, among the uncontrollable external stressors facing individuals in the agricultural and horticultural industries. The “Covid-era” has triggered new feelings in everyone and has brought discussions about mental health to the forefront. Improving one’s environment with plants and encouraging more people to garden is one way our industry positively impacts this important health issue and celebrating #MentalHealthMonth is an opportunity to showcase the benefits of horticulture. .