Gardening
The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul - Alfred Austin
image by: BBC Gardeners' World Magazine
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Gardening is good for you
When gardening, you are also exposed to more stimuli than the flashing monitor of the treadmill. The sights, the sounds, the decision-making can all serve to distract you from the intensity of physical work you are doing. Images and recordings of natural environments have been shown to reduce feelings of pain and anxiety, help to lessen the need for anaesthesia and even improve healing times in hospital wards.
Resources
The joy of gardening
The crops can be delicious. But that is not the real point.
The science is in: gardening is good for you
Gardens and landscapes have long been designed as sanctuaries and retreats from the stresses of life – from great urban green spaces such as Central Park in New York to the humblest suburban backyard. But beyond the passive enjoyment of a garden or of being in nature more generally, researchers have also studied the role of actively caring for plants as a therapeutic and educational tool.
Who Knew! Dirt Can Make You Happier, Smarter, Say Researchers
I have a garden, and I absolutely love checking out my roses and herbs and the little pumpkin vine I planted last weekend. Gardening always helps me clear my head, but who knew that dirt has clinically proven health benefits. Check out this news ...
Why is gardening so good for your mental and physical health?
The science behind this classic outdoor mindfulness exercise
Build a garden that’ll have pollinators buzzin’
Transform your outdoor space into a thriving pollinator destination.
Can Gardening Help Troubled Minds Heal?
If you haven't noticed, gardens are popping up in some unconventional places – from prison yards to retirement and veteran homes to programs for troubled youth. Most are handy sources of fresh and local food, but increasingly they're also an extension of therapy for people with mental health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD; depression; and anxiety.
Gardening Is Better Than Antidepressants for Some Mentally Ill Patients
UK eco-therapy program MindFood uses the growing and selling of produce and other foods to help residents recover from and cope with severe mental illness.
Gardening is Self-Care: The Health Benefits of Gardening
If you are looking for a happy place in the world, look to the benefits of gardening. Everything about gardening brings a sense of enjoyment, accomplishment, and yes, sometimes even a bit of frustration. Gardening engages all the senses. The life in your garden will take you on a journey through nature’s seasonal transformations from the sight of beautiful colors and forms to inhaling intoxicating fragrances wafting through the night air.
Gardening: A fun hobby that’s good for your health
Gardening may be a fun and relaxing way to get in touch with nature, but did you know that it also has plenty of health benefits? Gardening is an activity that’s good for both the mind and body, and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Plus, you get to eat the delicious fruits, vegetables and herbs that you grow. So, grab your tools and get in the dirt!
Heal Me With Plants
Gentle gardening helps patients at some hospitals relax and recover.
Healthy Soil Microbes, Healthy People
The microbial community in the ground is as important as the one in our guts.
How to cultivate wellbeing through gardening
Gardening is proven to help mental health and is prescribed by the NHS. The author of a new book about its appeal to the senses says we get as much out of nurturing plants as we put in.
In Lockdown, Discovering Gardening’s Restorative Powers
o combat the anxiety and cabin fever stirred up by the coronavirus pandemic, many people are finding it therapeutic to work in the soil, plant seeds and watch things grow.
It’s Time to Slow Down and Appreciate Nature’s Tiny Marvels
Grab your iPhone: Andrew Brand wants to show you a side of your garden that you’ve never seen before (and how to photograph it).
Oliver Sacks: The Healing Power of Gardens
Even for people who are deeply disabled neurologically, nature can be more powerful than any medication.
One Way to Do More for the Environment: Do Less With Your Yard
When I mention the new meadow I am cultivating where our front yard used to be, my adult children roll their eyes. The word “meadow” conjures the mental image of a sunny field of blooming wildflowers, but this one is a work in progress. A dream more than an actuality.
Seeking Serenity in a Patch of California Land
The thinking of community leaders and health professionals is that gardens can help foster resiliency and a sense of purpose for refugees, especially older ones, who are often isolated by language and poverty and experiencing depression and post-traumatic stress. Immigrant families often struggle to meet insurance co-payments, and culturally attuned therapists are in short supply.
Start a Garden and Harvest the Health Benefits
The perks of gardening go far beyond whatever you may grow and eat.
Why Gravel Gardens Are Better Than They Sound
Yes, they may require 80 percent less work. But their beauty alone is reason enough to rethink the way you’re gardening now.
Gardening is good for you
A spot of gardening not only gives you a good physical workout but reduces pain and anxiety, too.
Gardening for health: a regular dose of gardening
There is increasing evidence that exposure to plants and green space, and particularly to gardening, is beneficial to mental and physical health,...
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