Gardening is a great and rewarding hobby that is very good for your health and wellbeing and if you read my last blog post Moving To QLD - A Life-Changing Decision https://www.ajourneyofholistichealthandwellbeing.com/post/moving-to-qld-a-life-changing-decision, you would know that I discovered my love for gardening during the 2020 Covid lockdown.
Although I was a complete newbie back then (still kind of am, really) and a lot of my plants didn't make it, I can definitely say that I've learned from some of the mistakes I've made, and know a lot more now than I did back then.
As promised in my last post, here are just some of the ways that gardening is good for your health and wellbeing:
1. It’s good exercise.
Gardening is a great way to get some exercise without (most of the time) even realising it. All that bending, digging, squatting, and crouching is a great way to work up a sweat and tone your muscles while doing something that you (hopefully) enjoy.
2. It's a great way to get some sunshine.
Getting out into the garden is a great way to get some sunshine which is great for:
Increasing your levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D strengthens your immune system and helps your body maintain calcium and phosphate for strong, healthy bones.
Getting some early morning sunshine can also help regulate your circadian rhythms (aka your sleep/ wake cycle) and assist your body in regulating the production of melatonin – the chemical that your body creates to help you sleep when it gets dark.
Increasing your levels of serotonin – the chemical that your body creates that makes you feel happy!
(Tip: Be sure to get at least 15 minutes of sunlight per day without sunscreen so that your body is able to absorb its benefits. ONLY 15 minutes though, any more than that and the sun can be damaging to your skin, so once your 15 minutes is up, cover up and/ or put on some sunblock. If you are fairly light-skinned (or have sensitive skin, 10 minutes without sunscreen may be enough – you know your skin best, so use your best judgement!).
3. Helps you get into a state of flow.
Have you ever been so engrossed in doing something that you enjoy, that you lose all track of time? Like nothing in the world matters apart from what you are doing right now.
Basically, being in the zone, or living in the moment while engaging in an activity is called being in a state of flow.
Getting into a state of flow is an excellent way to increase happiness and reduce stress levels.
Warning: Although being in a state of flow is amazing for your health and wellbeing, it’s also a great way to turn hours into minutes and make time simply disappear.
I can't tell you the amount of times I've engaged in a hobby for "about half an hour or so", only to find that in reality, 5 and a half hours have gone by and it's now 4 o'clock in the morning! So, if you have somewhere to be, maybe set an alarm! 😋
4. Gives you a sense of accomplishment.
There’s nothing more satisfying than the feeling of helping nature create new life. From the moment the seed is first planted, it’s so exciting to run outside each day to see if anything has happened yet.
The first sense of accomplishment comes from seeing the first hint of a tiny green sprout poking up out of the soil, followed by tracking the little one’s progress each day as it doubles in size.
Next comes watching your little plant flower. If we’re talking edible plants, it's exciting knowing that fruit (tomatoes, avocadoes, cucumbers, zucchini etc. are all technically fruits as well!) is more than likely on its way.
You then watch in anticipation as your fruit grows from a tiny little orb and doubles in size each day (much the same way as the plant did when it started off as a little sprout), before finally reaching its full size.
As you watch the fruit’s colour change as it ripens, the next sense of accomplishment comes from the harvest – you just can’t wait to eat it and see what it tastes like!
Your final sense of accomplishment comes from the amazing flavour of the delicious fresh produce that came from your own garden, grown on the plant that you nurtured to maturity.
Even better if you can share it with family and friends - when they compliment you on the out-of-this-world flavour, you can proudly tell them where it came from!
My partner and I are also able to enjoy a sense of accomplishment knowing that we were able to turn what started off as a barren wasteland into the cute little garden that it is today.
5. Great for your gut health.
Being out in the garden and making contact with the soil is a great way to pick up new microbes and increase the biodiversity of your microbiome (beneficial gut bugs), which can help strengthen your immune system.
6. Getting out into nature.
It has been scientifically proven that being out in nature is great for your mental health and can significantly reduce stress levels by decreasing levels of stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, reduce anxiety, and improve mood by increasing feelings of calm, happiness, and wellbeing.
It can also be good for your physical health by reducing blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle tension, and enhancing the function of your immune system.
7. Consume fresh, natural, homegrown produce.
Growing your own produce is a great way to know where your food came from, as well as exactly what’s on it or in it.
When you grow your own food, you can rest easy knowing that what you are eating has not been genetically altered or modified in any way and hasn’t been sprayed with toxic pesticides and herbicides that are harmful to your health (unless you're spraying your garden with chemicals, in which case, please stop ❤️).
8. Aesthetically pleasing
Whether you’re growing flowers, fruit and veg, trees, shrubs or herbs, gardening can be a great way to improve and enhance the appearance of your surroundings. Put simply, a well-tended garden is just nice to look at.
9. Can help you connect with others.
Having a hobby such as gardening can be a great way to connect with others, especially if you’re lucky enough to have a community garden close by. Community gardens can be a great way to meet new people with similar interests and maybe pick up some great advice from experienced gardeners (who know great tips like not fertilising your plants to death! 😉).
Gardening can also be a great way to connect with your neighbours – if they have too many tomatoes and you have too many cucumbers, maybe you can trade? It’s a win-win for everyone!
It also gives you something to talk about. Any time I’m unsure what to say to my dad on the phone, if I’m able to divert the conversation to gardening, suddenly we have plenty to talk about.
10. Good for the environment.
When you grow your own produce, you reduce your carbon footprint. Homegrown produce does not require a truck to have it delivered halfway across the country (or a ship or plane if it came from halfway across the world!) greatly reducing the burning of fossil fuels and it does not require any packaging.
It’s also a great way to reduce the amount of toxic chemicals polluting our air, soil, and waterways due to the copious amounts of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides used in commercial farming practices.
11. It can be convenient.
There have been so many times that I have been cooking a recipe from a cookbook that requires the use of fresh herbs.
It’s so convenient to be able to quickly run out to the garden to pick off only what you need as opposed to buying packets of herbs from the supermarket when you only need a small amount and then trying to figure out what to do with the rest (and throwing it in the bin if you can’t come up with something quick enough!) after you’ve pulled it out of its plastic packaging.
So, there are just some of the reasons that taking up gardening as a hobby can be a great way to improve your health.
If you can think of any other reasons that gardening is beneficial to your health and wellbeing, I'd love to hear them! 😊
How about you, do you have a garden or any plants that you care for? If not, is gardening something that you think you might be interested in trying at some point in the future? I'd love to hear from you!
Happy to have you here and I hope you have a great day/ night!
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Hope to have you back soon. Thanks for reading.
Lisa. 😊 xx
I would love a garden of my own!
It sure is!! ☺️ Thanks so much for reading! ❤️
Growing your own food is such a cool thing to be able to do!