10 Benefits of Gardening
One of my (many) memories of my grandmother is of watching her plant a flower in a pot one day. As her hands were digging in the soil and she gently placed the roots of the flowering plant into its new home, she smiled and told me how much she loved gardening and getting her hands dirty. I, on the hand, never did like it....until a few years ago. Now the experience of gardening is pure pleasure for me. Sometimes when my hands are digging in the dirt, that memory flashes in my mind. I think of that time with my grandmother and I just know she's watching me today with a smile on her face.
Not only does gardening now bring me joy, it also boosts my health, AND it's great for the environment ~ it's a win-win-win! There are several benefits received from gardening. Here's 10 of them to help encourage you to get outside and dig in the dirt.
1) Boost Your Immunity
Ditch the garden gloves! I love cleanliness more than most people I know, however I also know that getting my hands dirty is good thing. Every time you dig your bare hands in the dirt while gardening, you expose yourself to the bacteria that lives in that dirt. This is one of the best things you can do because this bacteria helps to boost your immune system. Furthermore, it also helps boost your mood as it triggers the release of serotonin, one of your feel-good hormones.
2) Relieve Stress
Do a Google search and you'll find endless studies proving that gardening helps to relieve stress. Or, better yet get outside and actually do some gardening to experience the stress relief firsthand.
3) Get Outdoors
For too many of us are stuck inside all day sitting too long and breathing circulated air. We require time outdoors; being in nature is healing for us. Gardening offers a great opportunity to get outside, breathe fresh air, feel the sunshine, listen to the birds, and enjoy the many other benefits we receive from being in nature.
4) Eat Fresh
Food grown in your own backyard is the freshest food you can eat. I love knowing that the produce we eat from our garden hasn't traveled a long distance in the back of a truck before coming into our kitchen.
5) Know What You're Eating
Growing some of our own food lets us know exactly what we're eating. And because we're keen to eat as much organic as possible, we always plant organic seeds in organic soil.
6) Increase Your Physical Exercise
Gardening offers a fantastic workout without you even realizing you're working out. Remember, physical exercise helps boost your feel-good hormones and reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.
7) Tone Your Muscles
Pushing wheelbarrows and lawnmowers helps strengthen your upper body muscles. While digging in the dirt can help strengthen and tone your thighs and your core muscles. And weeding and pruning can improve muscle strength and dexterity in your hands.
8) Encourages Kids to Eat Veggies
If you have children or grandchildren, let them help you in the garden. Doing so teaches children that food comes from the earth, not just the local supermarket. It also helps give them an understanding of how food goes from seed to table and this will help encourage them to want to eat what they've harvested.
9) Saves You Money
The cost of buying produce in the grocery store is not expected to go down. It's way less expensive to plant your own seeds and grow some of your own produce. A packet of seeds is only a couple of dollars and it's money well invested. The abundance of food you can receive from one seed package is incredible!
10) Great For Our Planet
Gardens boost the environment in numerous ways. One of those ways is by providing another green space amongst the asphalt jungles of the city. If you don't have a yard, you can use planters and pots on your balcony. And even without any outdoor space to call your own, you can still grow plants inside or contribute to a community garden.
Most of the benefits listed here talk about growing food but that doesn't mean that the benefits of gardening are limited to growing food. Tending to a garden of flowers benefits your health and the environment as well. So, what are you waiting for? Get outside and do some gardening today!
What kind of gardening brings you joy and why? Please leave a comment and let me know ~ I'd love to hear from you.
If you love this blog, I'd greatly appreciate you sharing it so that others can benefit from reading it as well. Thank you.
Pulling the weeds from your physical garden are not the only weeds you can pull. There can also be weeds lingering in your life that require pulling as well. Learn more in this blog, Life As A Garden.
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