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A Few Plants Outside Your Door: What Two RHS Studies Found About Front Gardens, Time Outdoors and Feeling Relaxed (England)

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Not everyone has a large garden, but many people have a front step, a window box or a small patch of ground. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has published two English studies that look at how gardens, including very small ones, relate to feelings of stress and wellbeing. This guide summarises what each study did and what its findings do and do not show. Both were carried out in England, and their results should be read as evidence about the participants studied rather than a promise for everyone.

Study one: planting front gardens in Salford

The RHS describes a four-year research project, a collaboration between the RHS and the universities of Sheffield, Westminster and Virginia. It examined the effect on households of adding ornamental plants to previously bare front gardens in economically deprived streets of Salford in Greater Manchester. Each of the 42 residents received one tree (juniper or snowy mespilus), one shrub (azalea), one climber (clematis), sub-shrubs including lavender and rosemary, spring bulbs and bedding plants to fill two containers. A control group of residents received the same plants one year later.

What the Salford study measured

By measuring residents’ concentrations of the hormone cortisol before and after the plants were added, the research team looked at whether the greenery affected stress levels. The RHS explains that cortisol levels change across the day, peaking in the early morning and dropping to their lowest at night, and that steep daily declines indicate effective regulation, a likely consequence of reduced stress. According to the RHS, before the experiment 24% of residents had healthy cortisol patterns. Over the year following the plantings, this rose to 53% of residents. Perceived stress levels decreased by 6% once the plants had been introduced.

The residents’ own views were also reported: more than half (52%) said their front garden contributed to them feeling happier, 40% said it helped them to feel more relaxed and a quarter said it helped them feel closer to nature. The RHS states that a front garden needs only a handful of plants to promote improved health for residents, and quotes the researcher Dr Lauriane Suyin Chalmin-Pui describing the stress reduction data as startling given the relatively small number of plants.

How to read the Salford results

The study involved 42 residents in one area, so it shows what happened for that group rather than a general rule. The RHS describes a control group that received plants a year later, which makes the comparison stronger than a simple before-and-after look. The changes reported were measured over the year following planting.

Study two: time spent in the garden

The second study was conducted by the University of Exeter and the RHS and published in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning. The RHS explains that it analysed data from nearly 8,000 people collected by Natural England between 2009 and 2016. It found that people who spend time in the garden are significantly more likely to report general good health, higher psychological wellbeing and greater physical activity levels than those who do not spend time in the garden.

The RHS adds that the benefits applied whether people spent their time gardening or simply relaxing, and that people who regularly spent time in their garden were also more likely to visit nature elsewhere once a week. Those with access to a private garden had higher psychological wellbeing, and those with an outdoor space such as a yard were more likely to meet physical activity guidelines, compared with people without a garden or outdoor space. The RHS reports that the study found the size of the benefits was similar to the difference in health between people living in the wealthiest and the poorest parts of the country.

How to read the survey

This was a national survey, so it identifies associations between spending time in a garden and self-reported outcomes, and it does not on its own show that gardens cause the differences. The lead author, Dr Sian de Bell, is quoted by the RHS saying that while being able to access an outdoor space is important, using that space is what really leads to benefits for health and wellbeing, which is her interpretation of the findings.

Small steps for a small space

Both studies point in the same direction, and the RHS’s own suggestions are modest. Its director of science, Professor Alistair Griffiths, hopes the research inspires more people to plant a few plants, whether in containers and window boxes or hedges and trees in borders in street-side spaces, and notes that window boxes are great for small-scale planting. The site’s guide to gardening for relaxation covers colour, scent and small-space ideas, and the guide to houseplants for a calmer home covers the indoor side.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a garden to benefit? The Exeter and RHS survey found higher psychological wellbeing among people with access to a private garden compared with those without a garden or outdoor space, but the Salford study shows that even a handful of plants in a bare front garden was linked with changes in stress measures.

Do I have to garden? According to the RHS, the benefits applied whether people spent their time gardening or simply relaxing in the garden.

Do the studies prove plants reduce stress? The Salford study used a control group but was small, and the national survey shows associations. Together they are supportive evidence, not proof for everyone.

The bottom line

Two RHS-backed English studies, a Salford trial with 42 residents and a survey of nearly 8,000 people, found links between plants and time spent in gardens and lower stress or higher wellbeing. The Salford group’s healthy cortisol patterns rose from 24% to 53% after planting, and the survey found benefits whether people gardened or simply relaxed. A few plants in a pot, a window box or a front garden is an inexpensive place to start.

Sources

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