How Gardening Relieves Stress and Promotes Well-Being
Not all of us are born with a green thumb. Some people love nothing more than whiling away their spare time with their hands in the soil, while others only pay their gardens attention when the weeds start taking over.
But regardless of where you stand on the gardening front, there’s one thing you likely can’t deny: gardening relieves stress and promotes well-being. Whether you’re begrudgingly pulling out weeds or smiling as you feed your much-loved plants the nutrients they need, there’s potential for you to enjoy some of the following benefits.
Improved Mood
Even if you only spend time in your garden to keep the weeds at bay, you’ll likely finish the task feeling far happier than when you started. Gardening can’t help but make you feel more at peace, especially as your mind is on the task at hand, giving any negative thoughts and feelings a sideline seat for the time being.
Therefore, if you’re ever in a bad mood, consider venturing out to your garden. Ten minutes pulling weeds or trimming hedges might be all it takes to turn that frown upside down.
An Opportunity for Exercise
Despite gardening looking like a reasonably idle activity, it can be a form of exercise. The process of digging, weeding, raking, and performing other garden tasks is all a form of movement. If you don’t feel like going to the gym, you can pop out to your garden for an hour of work and enjoy a sense of physical satisfaction.
Studies have also shown that exercise can benefit your mental health, making it a ‘double-edged’ benefit. Getting active in the garden might be as effective for you as some anti-depressants.
Boost Your Self Esteem
We all deserve to love and appreciate ourselves as much as other people do, but not everyone has the highest opinion of themselves. Gardening might be an easy way for you to start believing in yourself.
When you tidy up a previously wild garden or watch plants grow that you planted yourself, it’s hard not to be proud of your achievements. While there are many different ways to boost self-esteem, like getting enough sleep, improving your diet, and signing up for a self-help program, getting outside and immersing yourself in a natural environment might also be an excellent option.
Enhance Your Attention Span
Having a poor attention span can be challenging. You can sometimes struggle to focus on important tasks, even though you know you must give them your full attention. Gardening might help you work on your attention span so that you can improve it in other parts of your life.
Gardening requires focusing on weeding, planting, raking, and sowing to achieve very specific goals. You’re focused on the task in front of you, and there are normally very few distractions to draw your attention away.
While there are no guarantees that gardening will improve your attention span, studies show it’s possible. One study found that children with ADHD benefit from time outdoors in nature and had their ADHD symptoms significantly reduced.
A Sense of Belonging
While you might not find your sense of belonging in your own garden that you tend to on your own, it’s possible to find it if you help out in a community garden. Community gardens are calming environments where you can interact with other people from all walks of life and where you’re all trying to achieve a common goal.
If you have very few family and friends to rely on to achieve that same sense of belonging, a community garden can undoubtedly be where you get it.
How to Start Your Own Garden
Now that you know that gardening might improve your mood, reduce your stress levels, and enhance your attention span, you might be eager to experience these benefits yourself. While starting a garden from scratch can be intimating, it can be as straightforward as following the steps below:
1. Think About What to Plant
Some people love beautiful, vibrant flowers they can admire from their kitchen window, while others want practical, functional gardens to harvest from to prepare the family meal and save money. Write a list of all the plants you’d like to see in your garden.
2. Pick the Best Spot for Your Garden
Whether you’re planting flowers or vegetables, where you create your garden can make a difference in your level of success. Both vegetables and flowering plants require at least six to eight hours of sun each day. If you only have a shady yard, you’ll need to pick shade-tolerant plants, such as beans, peas, carrots, mint, and parsley.
3. Clear the Area
Now that you’ve found your perfect spot, you can remove weeds and sod and get your garden underway. Don’t forget to test the soil and make any necessary amendments before planting.
4. Prepare the Planting Beds
You can’t just scatter seeds over hard ground and expert them to throw. Even after amending the soil, it’s a good idea to dig the soil with a rototiller or by hand to provide a suitable foundation for plants to thrive. You’re now ready to plant!
Garden for Your Health
Whether you love gardening or not, the potential health benefits might have you exploring your options. Now might be the right time to get stuck into the garden and see if you can notice any of these benefits above.