Gardening Can Mean Better Living in Retirement Homes

Many more older folk will be living in retirement homes as they age, and their quality-of-life is an important issue. Hobbies, handicrafts, and other activities can go a long way to help keep residents contented, but a new approach has now been suggested – indoor gardening.

A trial reported in the journal Hort Technology describes the impact of indoor gardening on quality-of-life measures in assisted-living facilities. Eighteen elderly residents took part in a 4-week trial of the effects of weekly, 2-hour interactive classes in the care of houseplants. Three quality-of-life parameters were assessed before and after the trial: mastery (an expression of control of one’s choices and independence), self-rated health, and self-rated happiness.

The two teachers of the classes were impressed by changes in their students – increased activity, more social contact, and readiness to take responsibility for something other than themselves. There were significant improvements in the three measured qualities (mastery, health, happiness) over the 4-week period, too.

The results of this trial are not, in themselves, surprising. They serve, however, to remind us of the need for such programs, and the desirability of exploring newer approaches in program choices, especially those that don’t require much expenditure on apparatus, etc.

(Note that I’ve used the word ‘trial’ rather than ‘study’. I reserve the term ‘study’ for experiments where there is a control group, as a minimum, to provide better evidence of the effectiveness of a measured outcome.)