This study investigated the effects of full life-cycle horticultural therapy practice on meaning in life and psychological suzhi in university students. Using a quasi-experimental design, 101 students from a university in Chongqing were assigned to the experimental group, while 48 students served as the control group. A three month full life-cycle horticultural therapy intervention was implemented. The Chinese Revision of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire and the Simplified Version of the Psychological Suzhi Scale for University Students were administered to both groups before and after the intervention, with subsequent data analysis. The results indicated that the experimental group showed significantly higher post-test scores in meaning in life, total psychological suzhi, and all its sub-dimensions compared to the control group. The study demonstrates that full life-cycle horticultural therapy practice effectively enhances university students' sense of meaning in life and psychological suzhi. It offers a feasible and efficient practical paradigm for shifting university mental health education from problem intervention to proactive prevention. Additionally, it provides mechanistic evidence for Attention Restoration Theory by highlighting how interaction with nature promotes the development of deep psychological resources.

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