Gardening: It Grows You

Fresh air, fragrant smells, strong colours and maybe even something to eat; the pleasures of gardening.

Few people would say gardening is bad for you, although stiffness the day after may make us think otherwise. It is generally accepted that gardening is good for the body, mood and soul. For many of us, it may be our only daily connection with the world of nature.

So with all that is going for it, what makes a day of planting, composting, pruning, etc, seem so off-putting that a lot of us leave the trowels in the neglected garden shed?

In this blog, I will present the reasons to garden, why we don’t (as much as we could), and how to overcome what holds us back.

Gardening is Good for the body

Gardening has been related to the following physical benefits:

• Lower blood pressure by reducing stress.

• Increased physical activity results in toning muscles and increased flexibility.

• Reduce body fat by burning calories.

• Improves fine motor skills and hand to eye coordination.

• Increases oxygen in the blood by being outside while doing physical activity.

• Encourages us to practice the lesser-used senses of smell and touch.

• Improves our diet when we grow food. This has the knock-on effect that it helps us to appreciate fresh, healthy food in general.

• Those with pre-existing pain will be able to identify areas of garden work they want and can do, so gardening can help with their rehabilitation.

• Improves the quantity and quality of sleep.

Gardening is Good for the mood

Listed below are aspects of why gardening is associated with improved mood:

• We experience satisfaction with learning new skills, and can be rewarded with those skills, resulting in the garden we wanted.

• Naturally releases endorphins through physical activity and appreciation of nature.

• Improves our planning abilities as we visualise what we would like our garden to be.

• A natural mindfulness practice. Simply put, we can forget the emergency of our troubles in a garden. Then, with this clearer mind, we develop new perspectives on how to manage them.

• Takes us away from more passive activities that don’t engage the brain or promote social activities, eg the tele!!

• The reward of benefiting from your labours and impressing the neighbours !!!

• Develops strategic thinking via long-term planning.

• The mind-boosting vitamins in homegrown food.

Gardening is Good for the soul

The soul of ourselves can be strengthened through gardening in the following ways:

• Just being in a garden is viewed as an oasis of calm and emotional peace.

• Engaging with nature grounds us in a less complicated, more rugged world.

• While gardening can be a very solo occupation, it can also be very social. A time of working directly with loved ones, engaging with the community through community projects and allotments.

• Gardening can be very helpful for family bonding. It is especially suited to parents with young children and introduces them to the benefits of gardening for themselves.

• Gardening allows us to build our own relaxing, even sacred spaces.

• Often, plans go astray with gardening. Plants fail, flowers don’t bloom, slugs literally eat up all the fruit of your labour, etc. This is resilience training garden style. We are forced to reassess our desire to learn from our mistakes.

• Our creativity and self-expression is enhanced by the choice of plants, vegetables, fruit, shrubs, flowers, etc. How we present them, i.e. raised beds, pots, rockeries and etc. Basically, the type of garden we have and how it looks is entirely our creation.

• If any activity is based on hope, gardening is. Who knows what may happen to our precious seeds or baby plants? They could get dug up my a dog, washed away by a downpour of rain, who knows? The reward for that hope, and there usually is some reward, is extremely satisfying.

• In the counselling room, we are constantly talking about a process of change. The seasons of nature help us see that change truly is the only constant. Gardens themselves are testimonies to the truth that change is possible. My rose bed, which was previously a neglected overgrown shrubbery, reminds me daily of how, with some work, I made change possible. And yes, it is also a reminder that maintaining that change is a continuous but rewarding work in progress.

• There is joy also in knowing that your garden work is pleasing to other people as well.

• Our gardening efforts are the most direct work we can do, along with recycling, to promote environmental sustainability. Knowing we are contributing to a localised, healthier environment helps us to feel we are partaking in a global initiative.

• For some the being in their garden, working with nature, helps them to connect with their God. It has been said that a garden is where God first wanted us to be.

• For healing from trauma, gardening can be transformative. It can be a way to reconnect with passed loved ones who have a connection with a part of your garden. Throwing ourselves into the emotional solitude of garden work helps us to grow through the emotional pain of traumatic events in our lives.

• Let’s not forget, gardens can be fun places to be and working in them can be fun too.

Motivation to garden like a dried-up cactus

Is it true to say the hardest part of gardening is getting off the couch and opening the shed with the rusty lock and trying to find where you left the petrol for the lawnmower?

Bord Bia in 2022 did research into Irish gardening practices. They found the following reasons for why people don’t do gardening:

• The main barrier to people is a lack of knowledge. Basically, people are put off by the amount they believe they have to learn. What plants can grow in the shade behind their house? What type of soil is their backgarden? As for learning the proper Latin names for their plants, that is a bridge too far.

• There is a reluctance to admit this ignorance to those who are garden experts, so people may tend to avoid gardening altogether.

• The Irish weather is often too wet to entice the novice gardener out into the back garden.

• The pressures of life just steal the garden experience from people. They simply may not have the time.

• Gardening can be an expensive business, especially when you are starting. It just may not be a financial priority.

• Most new housing developments do not have big garden areas. This can make it seem less important. Some have so much space that they feel overwhelmed with what to do with it.

• And may I add one of my own issues; Gardening can be hard work!!!

I would suggest the way to tackle these barriers is one at a time, and not give in to an overall belief of defeat before you even try to start. The first thing to do is start small. Clean out whatever is there that you don’t want. Then start small to give yourself self-belief that you can do something. Small could improve the lawn, have a few pots, etc.
Know what your budget of time, money, space and energy is and work within that. Don’t expect Gardener’s World to suddenly spring up overnight. The secret really is to just give it a go, allow yourself to make mistakes, to have disasters. Don’t feel overwhelmed. Perhaps literally just take on one job or part of the garden at a time, take as long as you need, and don’t feel pressured to move on to the next project too quickly.

Just dig in

So I hope this has encouraged you to explore the adventure of gardening. You don’t have to take my word for it. Gardening grows you, so dig in.

Personal disclaimer: I am a fan of gardening. For me when I look out on our back garden I remember the phases of family life that we have had. I see the hard work of my wife in growing fruit and vegetables. I hope for this year to be the year that the snowdrop bulbs my son planted come up and flower. I see the raised bed that my sons helped make possible by transporting wheelbarrows of topsoil.

I see the garden that I am slowly building for my client's work area.

I see a life.

References

https://icppd.com/horticultural-therapy-fiann-o-nuallain/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ie/blog/how-my-brain-works/202204/why-gardening-is-good-the-body-and-the-brain

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.bordbia.ie/globalassets/2022_healthbenefitsofgardening-bord-bia.pdf