“If your knees aren’t green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously consider your life.”
-Bill Watterson, Creator of “Calvin and Hobbes”
Everyone can benefit from gardening. It is good for your health and even better for your mental health. It gives you a break from the busy city life and allows you to take some time for yourself. The many benefits of gardening are why so many people consider it their hobby and a great hobby it is. It is a cost-effective pastime that provides something for the entire family to do together.
Physical Benefits of Gardening
“Gardeners are good at nurturing, and they have a great quality of patience, they’re tender.”
-Ralph Fiennes, Actor
Gardening is good for your health because it provides physical and mental benefits. It decreases stress, offers relaxation, and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and other conditions. It helps with mental challenges like depression, anxiety, and insomnia and helps you to find peace and calmness. Gardening has proven to help people with bipolar disorder manage their condition more effectively. Gardening helps in achieving a higher state of self-awareness, learning about one’s emotions, and cultivating empathy.
Gardening and Children
“The love of gardening is a seed, once sewn, that never dies.”
-Gertrude Jekyll, British Horticulturist
Gardening can teach so much to a child. It teaches problem-solving skills that foster critical thinking skills. It helps them learn about the environment and how to care for it. Gardening gives kids some independence from parents while being supervised by them. And it can be therapeutic because of the nature of having one’s hands get dirty. As Almanac advises, to ensure a successful gardening experience with your child, start small so they’re not overwhelmed and get discouraged.
Gardening is Nature’s Bounty
“The best place to find God is in the garden, you can dig for him there.”
-George Bernard Shaw, Playwright
Growing a fruit and vegetable garden can be a wonderful way to connect with nature and enjoy the benefits of fresh herbs and vegetables. This can also help you eat healthier. If you keep your garden healthy by planting nutritious herbs and vegetables, you’ll be able to eat healthier as well since you know they are pesticide-free. Plant fruits and vegetables near each other in order to save time: You can just cut off a carrot from the plant for snack time instead of heading to the store when hunger strikes.
As more and more people discover the health benefits of gardening, the market for gardening products is growing. There are various types of gardening tools available to you; some make it easier than ever to grow your own vegetables, while others make it easy to make healthier food at home.
Join a Botanical Society
“Weeds are flowers too once you get to know them.”
-A.A. Milne, Author of the “Winnie the Pooh” Book Series
Botanical societies are one of the oldest organizations in the world that aim to study, maintain, and conserve plants. These societies have played an important role in the conservation of plants and their environments, and have contributed to new scientific discoveries about plant life and its health. By joining your local botanical society you get to meet others who share your hobby and you can get access to beautiful plants for your garden and learn about new plants which are added to your local flora all the time.
Gardening can be a wonderful hobby to enrich your life. What’s more, it can be shared with your friends and family, bringing you closer to nature and to each other.
To learn more about the variety of locally grown plants in British Columbia, visit PlantSomethingBC today!
Read more from Jack at breathewell.info/blog
