Even a tiny garden can be a big stress-buster

HAVING a few plants in the front garden could do as much to lower stress as eight weeks of mindfulness, say researchers.

City-dwellers were given ornamental plants such as violas and azaleas for their bare front gardens in an experiment. Their stress hormone levels were then measured around three months later.

Almost a third saw their stress levels improve, and many said they felt happier and healthier. When the volunteers were asked questions on how stressed they felt, the responses revealed an improvement similar to that seen in people after two months of mindfulness training.

‘The stress reduction data is startling. We found such a significant response with just a relatively small number of plants,’ said Dr Lauriane Suyin Chalmin-Pui, who led the research as part of her PhD at the

University of Sheffield. She is now a wellbeing fellow at the Royal Horticultural Society. ‘Now we know that access to even a tiny patch of nature has beneficial effects for our health.’

The 42 individuals in Salford were given two containers for their front garden containing a shrub, a climbing plant and a small tree, as well as bedding plants and bulbs. They were not required to look after the plants because the containers were ‘self watering’, but 14 engaged with them, dead-heading and buying new flowers.

One of them, a woman of 51, told researchers: ‘I love nature, and I see so little of it. So every time I get out of the house, I get a little wave of pride. It gives me a lift.’

The study, published in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning, found only 24 per cent of residents had healthy stress levels before getting the plants, but this rose to 53 per cent afterwards.