ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns horticultural therapy project and provides an overview and summary of the key supporting research evidence. It discusses the beneficial effects on physical and mental well-being of passive exposure to nature during social and recreational activity outdoors. Based on Veteran Affairs' work in the US, horticultural therapy programmes are increasingly being recognised as having the potential to alleviate suffering and significantly improve both physical and psychosocial well-being and functioning in veterans who present with physical and mental health challenges. More recently, the term "social and therapeutic horticulture" (STH) has been increasingly employed in recognition of the social activities and outcomes that may form an important part of therapeutic horticultural projects. Horticultural therapy sits firmly under the umbrella concept of "green care", whose ethos is "to use nature to produce health, social or educational benefits" for a wide range of vulnerable or socially excluded people.
