Social Life of Senior Citizens: A Review of Therapeutic Effects of Gardening for Wellbeing in Urban Nepal

This paper provides the insights for a better understanding of individual, familiar, and social factors of loneliness that influence wellbeing of people in later life. The review offers a thematic analysis on loneliness in elderly people and the therapeutic effects of gardening activities for healthy ageing. Five key themes related to loneliness of elderly people emerged across the papers: loneliness-an issue for wellbeing in life after retirement; the effects of gardening and plants on loneliness; gardening – a therapeutic tool to combat loneliness; elderly's loneliness during the pandemic and home gardening; and national and international initiatives to decrease loneliness in the elderly population. The review found a significant gap in literature directly connecting loneliness in the elderly with gardening activities for happy and healthy life ageing. The review found that there is a limited number of literatures on the loneliness situation of elderly people during the pandemic, where gardening plays a vital role to reduce the psychological problem while maintaining the social distancing and isolation.