Gross, H. & N. Lane, 2007, Landscapes of the lifespan: Exploring accounts of own gardens and gardening, in: Journal of Environmental Psychology, 27, 3
- Author : Gross, H. & N. Lane
- Year : 2007
- Title English : Landscapes of the lifespan: Exploring accounts of own gardens and gardening
- Journal/Series : Journal of Environmental Psychology
- Volume Number (ANNUAL: Counting Volumes of the Year shown above) : 3
- Volume Number (CONSECUTIVE: Counting all Volumes of this Journal ever published) : 27
- Pages : 225-241
- Abstract in English : There is a large body of literature linking nature and natural settings with aspects of psychological well-being. In attempting to address the question of why gardens are psychologically beneficial, proposed that there is a universality in the gardening experience. Most obviously, the garden is a place where people have the most immediate and sustained contact with nature and gardening provides not only the benefits of being nature-based but it calls on the basic information-processing skills of recognition, prediction, control and evaluation. The purpose of the study was to identify issues pertaining to meaning and gardens among a diverse group. For this reason interviews were considered the best way to explore individuals’ own experiences and meanings, rather than assessing their response to pre-formed concepts. The question of garden meaning across the lifespan was addressed using an analytical approach that would allow exploration of a relatively under-investigated psychological topic. Whilst there is work suggesting potential meanings of nature, the significance of personal, domestic gardens was considered an area for expanding conceptual understanding with a view to developing further forms of analyses. The study has captured the thoughts and feelings of a small group of participants, across the age range, about gardens and their experiences of them. The accounts clearly illustrate the way in which the garden and the act of gardening reflect concerns, interests, aspirations and emotions throughout the lifespan, acting as a location for coping with stresses, creating identities or dealing with loss. The interviews signalled how important the garden can be in the lives of young people and adults alike, and offers suggestions of the meanings and lived experiences surrounding the garden. The accounts provided through the interviews gave rise to the emergent themes of escapism, ownership and identity, and relationships.
- Comments/Notes : KEYWORDS: psychology, gardens, gardening, childhood,adulthood,identity