Health, Well-Being, and Gardens

Transformative service and genius loci of gardens are presented via a rich diversity of garden tourism heritage, legacy, and innovations on individual and societal health and well-being, as way back as ancient times, and innovating on garden tourism development going forward. Interacting with gardens and nature provides multifaceted benefits for human physical, mental and emotional health and well-being. Gardens represent one type of natural environment and greenspace increasingly recognised for their transformative, restorative, and therapeutic potential in leisure, recreation, and tourism contexts. Gardens have a rich history, legacy and ongoing efforts linked to horticulture, gastronomy, art, religion, science, pharmacy, medicine, botany, conservation, trade, design, among many other great heritage narratives. Gardens are connected to continued multi-disciplinary work, research, education, training, and meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This chapter examines the critical issues relating to the roles, responsibilities, challenges and opportunities of garden tourism development and stakeholders, in having a marked effect on individual and societal health and well-being and nurturing important ecosystemic thinking and action for the good of people, plants, and planet.