Part 3

Guest post by Sarah Gerhardt

Introduction

Gardening and spending time in gardens have major benefits for our health: mentally, physically and socially. 

Part 1 of my series was all about how you can design an outdoor space in a way that allows you to slow down and engage with something outside of daily pressures. In part 2, I looked at how gardens can create many small habits that support physical wellbeing; how they can encourage movement and provide opportunities to grow nutritious food.

This last part explores how gardens can connect us socially, help us overcome isolation and boost our self-esteem by engaging with the garden and other people.

Gardens as “third spaces”

The idea of the “third space” or “third place” refers to a social environment that is neither home nor workplace. It is a welcoming,  inclusive space where people can feel at ease.

Unlike cafes and pubs, community gardens and public parks are spaces between home and work where you don’t need to consume anything or pay to be there. In that sense, they share more characteristics with public libraries than with commercial third spaces. Both offer opportunities to learn, meet others and spend time without the expectation of buying a product.

In many ways, I like to think of community gardens and public parks as outdoor counterparts to public libraries and community centres. They are places where people gather around a shared resource, allowing participation regardless of income. They are accessible, inclusive, informal and low-pressure environments that allow us to linger.  This makes them valuable assets for building community in an age of individualism and retreat into online distraction.

Private gardens, allotments and membership parks such as those in Edinburgh’s New Town don’t offer the same inclusivity, but they can still bring a lot of social benefits to those able to access them. I will explore these benefits below.

Garden sharing schemes such as Edinburgh Garden Partners are particularly interesting, sitting somewhere between a private garden and a community garden. People who don’t have access to a garden but are interested in gardening are matched with garden owners who don’t have the capacity to tend to their space. The idea is to form a mutually beneficial relationship between volunteer gardeners and garden owners.

Gardens reduce loneliness and create belonging

Studies show that social connection keeps us healthy, both physically and mentally, and it is becoming increasingly clear that gardening can be an ideal way for people to come together. 

Loneliness and isolation negatively affect our health and can contribute to depression and anxiety. Horticultural therapy can help address these issues. Group or individual gardening activities led by horticultural therapists support people coping with a range of illnesses, social difficulties, and disabilities. They can improve wellbeing and, in some cases, support rehabilitation and recovery. 

Social contact in gardens is often indirect but structurally supported, which makes these environments low-stress and informal. This is not limited to the classic “third space” gardens. It also appears in everyday interactions such as neighbours chatting over the fence or allotment holders sharing growing tips. This kind of informal social connection is particularly important for older people living alone.

I have seen this first-hand in the New Town membership garden where I worked for many years. Older visitors would visibly brighten during conversations with staff or neighbours, or simply from watching children play on the lawn. A walk through the garden gave structure to their day, along with exercise and connection.

Confidence-building through gardening

Caring for a garden fosters ownership, responsibility, and a sense of control and connection. This can strengthen self-confidence and improve how people feel about themselves. 

A sense of control is particularly important for those who feel powerless or stuck. Making planting decisions, preparing the soil, planting it up, then seeing the results of their planning and actions as the plants grow can create a sense of achievement for people who may not experience it elsewhere in life.

Literally reaping the fruits of their labour can reinforce confidence in personal ability and support a stronger sense of agency. Planting a bed of perennials and watching it evolve across seasons makes effort visible and lasting, both to the gardeners and others. This sits alongside the broader mental and physical benefits of gardening. 

For confidence-building gardening, setting realistic conditions is important. For beginners, choosing easy plants suited to the environment increases the chance of success. It also helps to think about time realistically rather than aiming for perfection. Advice from local gardening clubs or community gardens can be valuable and can also strengthen social connections.

The way we see ourselves is often shaped by the groups we belong to. Identifying as a gardener creates shared identity with others who garden, especially when exchanging advice and celebrating successes. This can build mutual pride without competition.

Gardening also allows us to express our own identity. Personalising a gardening space or simply choosing what we want to grow helps us express our individuality and character, contributing to our sense of ownership and self-esteem. 

Tending to a garden and growing our own food can support a sense of usefulness, which can be particularly important for people who feel they lack purpose, for example, after retirement or long-term unemployment. 

Skill sharing among diverse groups

Gardening with others is a fantastic way to learn new skills in a hands-on, informal way. Allotments, garden-sharing schemes and community gardens bring together people from different socio-economic, cultural, religious and age backgrounds. They share techniques, exchange knowledge, and swap seeds and plants.

For introverts or those with social anxiety, working alongside others in a garden can feel far less demanding than typical social situations. Especially in community gardens, shared maintenance can act as a form of social glue. Tasks such as watering or weeding together create opportunities for connection and understanding across differences, helping reduce stereotypes and build relationships.

Conclusion

Collective gardening and shared time in gardens play a huge role in reducing isolation and loneliness. Unlike many of the mental and physical benefits of gardening, community cannot simply be “planted” into a space. It develops through structure and repeated shared activity. 

At the same time, the social benefits of gardens are closely linked to their mental and physical effects. Gardens, especially those that function as third spaces, can lift us and create stronger, more resilient communities.

About the author: Sarah Gerhardt is a gardener, linguist and punk musician based in Edinburgh. She was head gardener at the Dean Gardens, Edinburgh for 9 years and runs her own gardening business Gerhardt’s Garden Service. Find out more via her Linktree: https://linktr.ee/gerhardtsgardenservice