title: Community gardens as sites of solace and end-of-life support: a literature review.
abstract: In a pilot project, members of a community garden explored how they might provide better end-of-life support for their regional community. As part of the project, a literature review was undertaken to investigate the nexus between community gardens and end-of-life experiences (including grief and bereavement) in academic research. This article documents the findings of that review. The authors discovered there is little academic material that focuses specifically on community gardens and end-of-life experiences, but nonetheless the two subjects were seen to intersect. The authors found three points of commonality: both share a need and capacity for a) social/informal support, b) therapeutic space, and c) opportunities for solace.
authors.affiliation: Lecturer at Centre for Rural Health, University of Tasmania.
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marsh
authors.affiliation: Research Assistant at Centre for Rural Health, University of Tasmania.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spinaze
mesh_terms: D001601:Bereavement; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D051639:Gardening; D058611:Horticultural Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D009043:Motor Activity; D011788:Quality of Life; D019452:Terminally Ill / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Community garden; End-of-life care; Grief; Solace; Therapeutic space