Adding just a few plants to a bare front garden can lower stress levels and help people feel happier, research suggests.

Adding plants to front gardens reduces stress and makes people happier – study 6 Oct 2020​ ​

Adding just a few plants to a bare front garden can lower stress levels and help people feel happier, research suggests.

Researchers introduced ornamental plants such as juniper, azaleas, clematis, lavender, daffodil bulbs and petunias into small bare front yards in economically deprived streets in Salford, Greater Manchester.

The study by the Royal Horticultural Society and the universities of Sheffield, Westminster, and Virginia in the US then measured the stress levels of residents taking part in the scheme and asked them how they felt.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/press/releases/Scientific-research-shows-that-greener-front-garde​

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016920462030325X?dgcid=coauthor​

The Guardian - Doorstep Delights: Why Front Gardens Matter - June 2020 ​

A place to socialise, an oasis for wildlife, a gift to our neighbours – a front garden can be all of these things. Isn’t it about time we showed them some love,asks Clare Coulson

Last month, with more time at home than usual, Charlotte Harris, one half of the landscape design duo Harris Bugg, decided to dig up her paved front garden in Newham, east London. “It was a discussion we’d been having for a while,” says Harris, who gardens with her girlfriend Catriona Knox. They’d already removed the paving from the back garden of their house, which is in a densely populated area of the city undergoing vast amounts of regeneration. “Around here every bit of green space feels precious,” she says. “Obviously there are parks, but I think each of us has to take responsibility for any space we have.”

Returning Roads To Residents - The Urban Design Alliance (2005)

UDAL is a network of professional and campaigning organisations that was formed in 1997 to promote the value of good urban design. UDAL’s organisations bring together over half a million people who design, plan, manage and campaign for better places. Their day-to-day decisions shape the urban environment. UDAL is working to help them become more effective.

UDAL Returning Roads To Residents a practical guide.pdf (2005)