Literature review Historically, recorded therapeutic benefits of gardening span back to the 1800s, with the belief that working in agricultural fields enhanced life for people

Evidence suggests that people with Parkinson's disease can experience difficulties participating in occupations. This article describes a qualitative study that explored how seven people with Parkinson's disease perceived their participation in occupations. The analysis of the semi-structured interviews led to the identification of three themes: changes, addressing changes and perspectives on living with Parkinson's disease. Many findings supported the existing literature; for example, difficulties with self-care occupations and the desire to maintain normality. The new findings included the participants describing positive changes in their lives that were attributable to having Parkinson's disease and using occupations purposefully to enhance wellbeing. The results support the use of a client-centred approach to consider the implications of participation in occupations for people with Parkinson's disease, because this may encourage clients to use their own expert knowledge to enhance existing coping strategies. The recommendations for further research include an investigation as to whether the themes identified apply to a larger population and including people with Parkinson's disease in designing future research questions about the impact of occupational participation on wellbeing.

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Introduction: Garden visiting, as described in this study, involves visiting private gardens which householders have temporarily opened to the public, in support of charity. In the United Kingdom, garden visiting is a popular occupation which attracts 750,000 people each year. The connections between active gardening and wellbeing are well established, particularly for people in later life. This research explores visiting other people's gardens for leisure in order to deepen our understanding of how garden visiting is experienced as an occupation.

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