The more sustainably you garden, the higher your perceived levels of wellbeing from it, scientists have found.

Research by UK gardening charity the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) found that taking a sustainable approach to gardening has a positive impact not only on the environment but can also make people feel better compared with a less green approach.

The charity asked 2,086 people about their gardening habits, with 83% of those who gardened considering it positive for their overall health and wellbeing, with the greatest benefits perceived for mental health followed by physical and social health.

Those gardeners who said they actively supported wildlife or limited their environmental footprint, perceived higher overall health and wellbeing benefits from gardening.

The most common sustainable activities undertaken included avoiding the use of pesticides (62%), growing plants for bees (58%) and watering with rainwater or recycled greywater (43.8%).

Sustainable gardening, the research suggests, is thought to benefit people in six key ways:

• Improving environments for supporting human health
• Enhancing opportunities for psychological restoration
• Higher engagement in physical activity
• Wider social network bonds incorporating nature connectedness
• Providing a higher degree of continuous learning
• A sense of extended care-giving to the wider environment

For example, hand weeding expends more energy than applying weedkiller, as does using a watering can over a hose, or making and mulching compost over buying an equivalent. Sustainable gardening also provides more opportunity for reflection and restoration, a greater connectedness with the natural world and a less stressful gardening experience by working with rather than against nature.

Lead report author and RHS sustainability fellow Chloe Sutcliffe said, “Identifying a link between sustainable practices and perceived wellbeing in garden contexts was a welcome surprise for the research team.

“It makes sense that making more sustainable choices is likely to benefit our wellbeing in the longer term, but it seems that doing so can directly benefit our wellbeing in the here and now too, something that policy makers and health professionals might tap into in order to deliver improved climate, biodiversity and human health outcomes”.

The research paper was published in journal Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. The RHS’s guide to gardening sustainably, including how to switch from mains water to rainwater, is available on its website.