One design decision that research suggests makes a measurable difference to stress: what you see from your kitchen window.
This sounds simple. It is. But it's the piece most people skip when planning a garden.
Roger Ulrich's landmark 1984 study — 46 post-surgery patients at a Pennsylvania hospital — found that those with a view of trees required fewer strong painkillers and received significantly fewer negative nursing evaluations than those facing a brick wall (Ulrich, 1984, Science). His later work confirmed that nature views activate parasympathetic recovery within minutes.
The design implication is straightforward: your garden should be composed from the inside out.
The view from your kitchen window. Your living room. Your home office. These are the sightlines that matter most, because they're where you spend the most time.
We design gardens so that key windows frame layered, green planting rather than bare fencing, bins, or empty hardscaping. Even when you can't step outside, a well-framed view is doing measurable work.
It's one of the simplest things we do — and one of the most effective.
Full article on designing for wellbeing on our Hub: montrose-landscapes.com/greens-and-blooms/post/wellbeing-garden-design
📍 Surrey
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