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Throughout history gardens have been used to aid the lealing process – from the Japanese Zen Garden to the Monastic Cloister garden. However, with the advances in medical technology in the 20th century, the use of gardens as healing elements began to diminish. Fortunately with the recent interest in complementary and alternative therapies, which emphasizes healing the whole person – mind, body, and spirit -rather tan simply alleviating symptoms, the interest in garden as healer has been revived.

The mental health benefits of time in the outdoors is well documented, but although doctors sometimes prescribe time in nature, it was not clear what the minimal “outdoor pill” would need to be. * New research conducted by MaryCarol Hunter at the University of Michigan finds that just ten minutes of exposure to nature, two to three times per week,
produces positive mental health benefits. Participants reported having significantly less stress, an improved ability to focus, and an increased satisfaction with their mood and energy levels. Also, benefits were greater in residential landscapes or small parks.

It is well-established that the experience of nature produces an array of positive benefits to mental well-being. Much less is known about the specific attributes of green space which produce these effects. In the absence of translational research that links theory with application, it is challenging to design urban green space for its greatest restorative potential.

Studies in health care settings show a link between nature and healing. Nature contact may serve to supplement or augment medical treatment and therapy. Both passive exposure to landscapes and more active interactions with nature provide mental and physiological benefits that contribute to healing and therapy.