A recent study published in the journal PLOS ONE by University of Florida scientists found that gardening activities improved mental health by lowering levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in healthy women who attended twice-weekly gardening classes.

The study was co-authored by an interdisciplinary team of researchers with the environmental horticulture department, the UF College of Medicine, the UF Center for Arts in Medicine, and the UF Wilmot Botanical Gardens, which also hosted all the study treatment sessions.

Thirty-two healthy women aged between 26 and 49 completed the study, none of which have gardened before. Half of the participants were assigned to gardening sessions, while the other half were assigned to art-making sessions. Both groups met twice a week for a total of eight times. The art group served as a point of comparison with the gardening group.

The art and gardening interventions were found to improve participants’ psychological profile elements after only four weeks of twice-weekly, one-hour sessions. Of course, not everyone has a garden at their disposal that needs to be taken care of, laid out, cultivated, protected from bad weather, monitored for pests or diseases, etc. It is however possible for everyone to have pots or tubs on a terrace or a balcony, even install a planter on a window sill, or limit to a few indoor green plants. In all these configurations, whatever they may be, it will be necessary to take care of the plants so that they remain in good condition.

In times of war, gardening made it possible for soldiers to nourish themselves, to keep morale up with flowers, a space for the imagination, and to add a little note of beauty to a devastated landscape. Soldiers had often set up small gardens behind the trenches during the 1st World War: it was a survival strategy in the face of horror. Gardening is part of the cycle of nature, which could benefit many in times of crisis and war.