The perceived restorativeness scale supports horticultural therapy in hospital green areas, data from 294 questionnaires

Active involvement with nature (such as gardening), doing something in the nature (such as strolling), and taking occasional looks to the nature by the windows are three different levels of engagement with nature. The horticultural therapy (HT) activity carried out in the Neurorehabilitation Therapeutic Garden in Venice, at the San Camillo Hospital Foundation, gave the opportunity for examining how different levels of involvement with nature are perceived to bring well-being, by different users. The aim was to explore the perceived restorative potential (PRP) of the garden by a) neurological patients b) relatives and caregivers and c) staff of the hospital. Among the 294 participants 1) 134 were usually engaged in HT, 2) 84 were regularly walking in the garden, 3) 76 was aware of the garden but they did not attend it. All of them were asked to complete the Italian version of the perceived restorativeness scale (PRS) on their experience in the garden. The results show that the garden is perceived as restorative, both in total and for the four restorative factors (being away, fascination, extent and compatibility) examined in the questionnaire, discriminating between the three different levels of engagement. The restorative potential was significantly higher in patients regularly engaged in HT in comparison to the other sub-groups. Relatives and caregivers had benefits from both working and strolling in the garden. These experimental evidences confirm that the green spaces in the hospitals are a fundamental health resource for the mind-body unit and that promoting outdoor physical activity in natural environments brings benefits to relatives and caregivers. The Perceived Restorative Potential could be both a useful index to address people to HT and to follow up the HT benefits.