The Health Benefits of Gardening
Now that the sunshine is here to stay (at least for a little while), there’s no better time to get out and enjoy your garden. Sunbathing, barbecues, parties and reading a good book are all fantastic activities, but we recommend also doing a little gardening here and there.
Getting busy in the garden comes with multiple benefits to health and wellbeing, which we’ve listed below. Don’t worry if there are some tasks you hate doing, as we can manage them for you. This means you can pick and choose your gardening activities, saving the difficult and time-consuming ones for our team of skilled and friendly landscaping experts.
Gardening is good for your heart
Getting into the garden even for just half an hour to do a bit of digging, weeding, planting and raking is a great cardiovascular workout. In the process, it helps you to loosen up, burn off a few calories and keep your muscles strong.
The more often you garden, the greater the benefits to your heart – just make sure to stay hydrated and call it a day when you’re feeling tired.
Gardening is a fantastic stress reliever
Immersing yourself in nature, even just a small garden, is the ultimate way to calm the mind. People who experience stress, anxiety and depression often find that doing some gardening helps them tremendously, plus it’s a powerful way to keep these feelings at bay.
There are multiple reasons behind gardening reducing stress – the natural light and fresh air provide an instant boost, plus being surrounded by greenery offers a fresh perspective and lifts the mood. It’s also an opportunity to create and nurture, as your garden is a blank canvas that can be filled with as much new life as you wish.
Gardening improves hand strength
Here’s a benefit that you may not have considered – regular gardening is an effective way to improve the strength of your hands. If you work in an office or any other environment that doesn’t require much lifting, your grip can naturally reduce over time. By getting into the garden and pulling up a few weeds, your hands will remain strong well into old age.
Gardening builds self-esteem
If you’re new to gardening, you won’t yet know the feeling of accomplishment that comes from standing back and admiring the fruits of your labour (quite literally if you decide to grow apples and strawberries).
The more you go into the garden and get stuck in, the more confident and adventurous you’ll become. Start simple and go from there – we guarantee you’ll soon realise that your skills are growing even quicker than your hydrangea.
Gardening encourages healthy eating
Try growing some of your favourite vegetables, as this way you’re bound to get more fresh produce into your diet. A herb garden is always a good addition because they can be used in a variety of dishes, which may also inspire you to be more creative in the kitchen.
We suggest a mint plant too, as the leaves are perfect for everything from garnishing lamb chops to infusing in hot water to create a rejuvenating tea. Mint also attracts beneficial insects and repels pests, including fleas (your cat or dog will thank you).
Gardening makes you happy
Even people who don’t like getting dirty will soon change their minds and appreciate that gardening is a wonderful way to spend a little spare time. Some find it fun, others think it’s relaxing, and a few take it as a chance to make themselves proud. Whatever the case, gardening is bound to make you feel happier, healthier and more in control of life. Give it a go – we promise you’ll love it.
We can help
You don’t have to do all of the gardening. If there are any tasks that take too long or you simply don’t enjoy them, save them for the team of specialists here at Right Landscaping. To find out more, get in touch through our contact form.
Tagged as: gardening advice, wellbeing
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