This study used quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the
impact of indoor gardening on elderly residents of a low-income assisted living
facility over a 4-week period. Mastery, self-rated health, and self-rated happiness
were pre-, post-, and post-post measured to evaluate whether a short-term
introduction of indoor gardening that involved individual plant-care responsibility
would improve these measures that are predictive of health and quality of life.
Eighteen residents participated in four 2-hour interactive horticulture classes
taught by a social horticulturist and a sociologist. Class members showed a
significant increase in mastery, self-rated health, and self-rated happiness. The
results of this study indicate that a basic horticultural activity, as simple as learning
how to maintain a houseplant and taking individual responsibility for one, can have
a short-term positive impact on the quality of life and on primary indicators of
future health outcomes of older adults residing in assisted living facilities.
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