Social Science & Medicine 58 (2004) 1781–1793
‘Cultivating health’: therapeutic landscapes and
older people in northern England
Christine Milligan*, Anthony Gatrell, Amanda Bingley
Institute for Health Research, Lancaster University, Alexandra Square,...
More
Social Science & Medicine 58 (2004) 1781–1793
‘Cultivating health’: therapeutic landscapes and
older people in northern England
Christine Milligan*, Anthony Gatrell, Amanda Bingley
Institute for Health Research, Lancaster University, Alexandra Square, Lancaster LA1 4YT, UK
Abstract
While gardening is seen, essentially, as a leisure activity it has also been suggested that the cultivation of a garden plot
offers a simple way of harnessing the healing power of nature (The therapeutic garden, Bantam Press, London, 2000).
One implication of this is that gardens and gardening activity may offer a key site of comfort and a vital opportunity for
an individual’s emotional, physical and spiritual renewal.
Understanding the extent to which this supposition may be
grounded in evidence underpins this paper.
In particular, we examine how communal gardening activity on allotments
might contribute to the maintenance of health and well being amongst older people.
Drawing on recently completed
rese
Less