Natural green environments are restorative, engaging and meaningful. The sense of relaxation that comes from a garden improves cognitive functioning. E.g. The presence of flowering plants in the dining room of a psychiatric ward increased the amount of time spent talking and social gazes. Windows with a garden view in hospital wards correlate with quicker post-operative recovery times.There are recognised physiological and behavioural changes when people contact green environments. Aggression decreases and mood improves, and the habitual pattern of thought is broken.

Appreciating beauty is a vitally important aspect of how we relate to the world. The fascination that a person can experience by watching a simple feature in the garden eases mental effort. Gardening involves observing, noticing and responding to plants which stimulates a person's information processing capacity. The distraction means that they can forget themselves, feel good and motivated to repeat the experience. Horticulture promotes optimal sensory processing because there is an abundance of sensory information, there is an active physical relationship and the information is naturally integrated. This acts as a platform to engage in skill acquisition as it benefits mood, motivation, socialisation, verbalisation, motor co-ordination and motor skills.

Individuals develop their identity through what they 'do'. They make sense of their life experiences in terms of an ongoing personal life story that is being lived. People tend to characterise themselves and behave within their story. If a person's story can encompass their disability or illness, it integrates it into the bigger picture of that person's life. This is good for recovery. It is an ongoing story, so eliciting a narrative helps the construction of the next 'chapter' or goal setting. The reinforcement of time, place and activity means that horticulture can connect people with an ongoing story. Horticulture appears to infuse personal narratives with positive, affirming metaphors of life, growth and nurturing.

The best evidence for the efficacy of a community garden must come from the users, here are a few quotes from the clients.

"I just like plants y'know. It's a bit of stability in the world, I think. They're not going anywhere and they're not threatening or anything. They stay in one place, not like people or vehicles or something."

"It's good to do something physical. I live a lot in my head."

"Suddenly you realise you're at one. I don't know what with, but it's a nice feeling."

"Digging makes you happy."

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Updated 9 October 2009