Restorative landscapes in urban green infrastructure: The ecological and psychosocial roles of horticultural therapy

Abstract. Traditionally understood as a nature-based intervention designed to enhance psychological well-being through interaction with plant environments, horticultural therapy (HT) is increasingly being recognized within the broader contexts of urban planning and ecology. This article explores HT not merely as a therapeutic practice but as a multidimensional phenomenon that emerges at the intersection of urban green space management, ecosystem services, and psychosocial recovery. By synthesizing recent interdisciplinary findings and conceptual approaches, the study proposes a framework that repositions HT within the domains of ecological public health and sustainable city design. Urban green spaces, including parks, botanical gardens, arboreta, and therapeutic landscapes, serve as multifunctional systems that provide essential ecosystem services. These services encompass air purification, microclimate regulation, noise attenuation, biodiversity conservation, and psychological restoration. Such ecosystem functions are environmentally significant and constitute the biophysical foundation for the therapeutic potential of horticultural activities. From this perspective, gardens transition from being isolated therapeutic settings to integral components of a living infrastructure that promotes health and well-being within the urban environment. Drawing on literature from urban ecology, landscape architecture, environmental psychology, and health geography, this paper examines how managed green spaces can create the conditions necessary for effective horticultural therapy. The analysis emphasizes the structural, sensory, and biodiversity features of green environments that facilitate emotional regulation, stress reduction, and cognitive restoration. Findings from empirical studies indicate that environments rich in plant diversity, seasonal variation, and naturalistic design elements support psychophysiological recovery processes more effectively than highly artificial or monotonous spaces. Exposure to biodiverse gardens stimulates multiple sensory pathways (visual, olfactory, tactile, and auditory) thereby enhancing the immersive quality of nature experiences and promoting mental resilience. The study positions horticultural therapy within the context of ecosystem services, emphasising the relationship among cultural ecosystem services, such as aesthetic appreciation, spiritual enrichment, place attachment and social cohesion, and health outcomes at the individual level. Therapeutic gardens function as interfaces where these services can be perceived and experienced directly through either guided or self-directed interactions with the plant environment. Engaging with plants in symbolic, rhythmic, and multisensory ways has been shown to facilitate self-reflection, emotional integration, and personal transformation. Activities such as planting, pruning, harvesting, or simply observing the changing seasons can fulfill our fundamental human need for meaning, rhythm, and a sense of connection with others. This connection is often lacking in our busy urban lives. The social aspects of horticultural therapy are also addressed. Group-based gardening programs offer psychosocial support and promote social inclusion, while simultaneously transforming public spaces into areas of shared care and community health. In this context, horticultural therapy (HT) intersects with models of community gardening, participatory urban greening, and ecological citizenship. This alignment strengthens the role of horticultural therapy as a socially embedded practice that encourages civic participation and ecological literacy, ultimately contributing to collective well-being. Importantly, the article also addresses the environmental risks and limitations associated with garden-based interventions. These risks include biological hazards, such as zoonotic infections, allergenic plants, and improperly treated compost, as well as accessibility challenges faced by vulnerable populations and the unequal distribution of green infrastructure in socioeconomically disadvantaged urban areas. The article emphasizes that the therapeutic benefits of horticultural spaces depend on the appropriateness of their design, maintenance, and social governance. Safe, inclusive, and ecologically resilient environments require interdisciplinary planning that integrates knowledge from health sciences, ecology, urban design, and social policy.