Whether it is called people/plant interactions, sociohorticulture, or one of the many other names that have been given to it, human issues in horticulture deal with plants and the way that they affect people. It encompasses the areas of urban horticulture, public horticulture, and therapeutic horticulture.
We all can sense that we feel better when we are surrounded by greenery, working in a garden, or taking a walk through nature; there is much anecdotal evidence that plants affect people in a positive way. Some research has been conducted that supports this as well, and research in this area is growing. Other areas being studied are the physical benefits that can be obtained through gardening, and the relationship gardening can have with other areas of our lives, such as nutrition.
Zajicek lab in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A&M University is currently studying related issues. For more information about our research, visit the Research page.
For more information on what other people in human issues in horticulture are doing, please visit the following program pages:
Cornell University - Urban Horticulture Institute
Cornell University - Plants and Human Well-Being
Green Plants for Green Buildings
Kansas State University - Horticultural Therapy
Plants for People Organization
Texas A&M University - Holistic Garden
University of Hawai'i at Manoa - An International People-Plant Interaction Resource Center
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Landscape and Human Health Laboratory
Virginia Tech - Human Issues in Horticulture
Wangari Maathai - Founder of the Green Belt Movement and Nobel Peace Prize 2004 Winner
Washington State University - Human Issues in Horticulture