The mental wellbeing benefits of gardening

Enjoy a sense of purpose and achievement

Humans thrive on having a sense of purpose and being rewarded. It makes us feel good on the inside. Caring for a garden can be a powerful way to gain that purpose. You're responsible for it; you're tasked with keeping it under control and making sure plants don't die. And gardening gives you the chance to take time out from the frantic, noisy environment many of us live in and focus on something calm. 

Feel at one with nature

Being in your garden can be a feast for the senses! Smelling flowers, listening to bees, watching insects, tasting home-grown strawberries, and feeling the different textures of leaves. Even the simple sound of wind through the trees. Taking a moment for mindfulness can be a real eye-opener – there are so many sounds and sights to occupy your thoughts and calm your mind. Give it a try, especially while the skies are empty of planes.

Hang out with plants; they won't judge you

Spending some time with plants and trees can help ease social anxiety while giving you some non-human company. We can't go out and about with friends at the moment; the lockdown has us in a perimeter for our safety. That doesn't mean we can't talk though, right? Although talking to plants hasn't been proven to help them grow, some people enjoy having an, albeit one-way, chat, playing music, or even reading to them! It might be our human nature, but when we nurture plants, we develop attachments.

Take your anger out on the garden

There's nothing like taking out your frustrations on the garden! Digging can be hard work, so you can really put some anger into it if you need to. Chopping those overgrown weeds down can make you feel much better afterwards, as can sawing up some branches or logs. Plus, your garden will look tidier as a result!

I haven't got a garden!

If you haven't got a garden, what can you do? Fill your house with plants! There are plenty of indoor plants which actually help purify the air and even help solve a few health problems. The spider plant, for instance, helps remove toxic chemicals in the air from synthetic fabrics and paper bags.

Enjoy a healthy mind and a beautiful garden

Discovering a new hobby or learning something new is a positive distraction from the news at the moment. If you find yourself dwelling a little too much on the latest coronavirus update, why not step into your garden for a moment and leave your mobile indoors? A garden is an ideal place to enjoy a digital detox! Hopefully, you'll find more useful blogs as you keep browsing our healthy living hub, but not while you're in the garden.

Take care.

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