Advice on Lifestyle & Spaces

How Gardening Can Give You a Boost

There’s a reason gardeners are often voted as the happiest workers in the UK – not only are we outdoors every day, we’re also being physical, working among nature, and we’re not undertaking huge amounts of stress in the workplace. Gardening has in fact, long been associated with our mental and physical wellbeing.

Many plants have been used for hundreds of years medicinally and still are. Chamomile is thought to help reduce anxiety and inflammation, rosemary is reported to improve memory and boost your immune system, and research shows that evening primrose can be effective in treating acute menopausal problems.

But you don’t have to drink chamomile tea to get the benefits of nature and gardening. A number of universities alongside the Royal Horticulture Society have done studies on how gardening can help keep you fit and healthy, reduce anxiety and depression and prevent cognitive decline. The NHS has even made gardening part of its long-term plan, called ‘Green Social Prescribing’.

With all the evidence that gardening is beneficial to us, we should all be doing it! Whether you have a large garden, balcony, allotment, community garden, or just a houseplant, here are some ways you can give it a go and see the positive impact gardening can have.

5 Mindful Gardening Moments

1. Get your hands in the soil - whether you’re a glove wearer or not, get your hands dirty and repot that plant! Plant out those plug plants that have just arrived. Have a mulching session. It’s been proven that getting your hands in the soil indirectly releases a small amount of serotonin, making us feel better. You might need a nailbrush afterwards though…
2. Sow some seeds - gardening encourages us to have patience and live more slowly. Sowing a seed and watching it germinate over days or weeks is a thrilling experience – we all remember the days of waiting for cress seeds to grow on damp kitchen roll! Sow seeds in a propagator or a recycled plastic supermarket container and wait for the magic to happen.
3. Listening to the birds - fill up your bird feeders, top up your bird bath and wait for your feathered friends to arrive. There’s nothing like waking up to the dawn chorus and watching numerous species flit and peck at the feeders. The more you encourage the birds to your garden, the more you’ll enjoy their beautiful birdsong.
4. Forest bathing - if you don’t have a garden but love getting out into nature, why not try some forest bathing? The ancient Japanese practice of relaxation encourages you to use all your senses to connect with nature. So put your phone away, focus on your breathing and take in the sights, sounds, and feelings of the trees around you.
5. Relax with a cuppa - once you’ve sown your seeds, planted your plug plants and done a spot of forest bathing, the most important thing you can do next is to enjoy your space. Try to switch off and enjoy whatever outside space you have with a nice cup of tea! Us gardeners love gardening so much, it can be tricky to remember to sit back and appreciate what we’ve done, and this is just as important as doing the gardening itself.