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Sociohorticulture is the interdisciplinary field of horticulture which studies the relationship between horticulture and human beings (both individuals and groups) and applies the research results to enhance human life quality and to care for our nearby environment. This field encompasses all other fields of horticulture except commercial aspects of horticultural production or marketing, and its botanical basis in horticultural plants such as vegetables, fruits, ornamental plants and landscaping plants. This field can be approached from the following perspectives: How horticulture affects human beings and how we apply this to our life quality and nearby environment This include issues such as 1) economic benefits of plants, 2) environmental effects, 3) psychological and physiological effects, 4) physical effects, and 5) social effects. The results of research in these areas will be applied to increasing the use of flowers and greenery in our nearby environment, improving the psychological and physical health of city dwellers, establishing horticultural therapy for disabled and elderly individuals, and promoting Kleingarten. How the relationship between horticulture and human beings is different from area to area and/or from culture to culture, and has been changing historically This topic covers the cultural aspects of horticulture such as plants in social customs, arts, plays, religions, etc. It also covers areas such as the language of plants, preferences in flowers, vegetables and fivits, usage of plants, production systems, and so on. This area is being explored by researchers in economics and marketing of horticultural crops as well as by social scientists, anthropologists, artists, and psychologists. What human beings may learn through horticulture Horticulture is used as a method of education in such areas as science, environment, agriculture, $quot;joso-kyoiku$quot; (aesthetics and emotion), and even mathematics, social science, language, and art. However, the most important educational aspect of horticulture is that we may learn the concept of $quot;fostering$quot; or $quot;nurturing$quot; through horticulture. Understanding this concept and developing skills in nurturing helps us to live us human beings by balancing the $quot;acquiring$quot; aspect of human creativity. This understanding would force us to reconsider the present educational system in society and schools such as kindergarten, primary school and high school, technical school, community college, college and university. This text will also give an introductory comparison of the present status of horticultural therapy (HT) and the Kleingarten (the allotment) in Europe, the U.S.A. and Japan.
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