Effects of garden management practices, by different types of gardeners, on human wellbeing and ecological and soil sustainability in Swiss cities

Summary

Gardens have effects on the local ecology as well as on the wellbeing of the gardener, but few studies have attempted to study gardens using both ecological and social outcome variables. The aim of this exploratory study is to address this research gap by identifying the characteristics of gardens and the management practices of gardeners that enhance the outcomes of gardening, which we separate into three dimensions: human wellbeing, biodiversity, and soil quality. Data were collected from 18 gardens in Zurich, Switzerland and a typology of gardeners was dentified,which included ‘conservationist’, ‘functional’, ‘minimumeffort’,
‘child-friendly’, and ‘aesthetic’ gardeners.