MILLCREEK — I’m not a big gardener, but I was raised by one.
Growing up, Mom always filled our yard with a variety of plants, from delicious vegetables to flowers with vibrant colors. Even though I never loved gardening as much as she did, I always saw how happy Mom was when she was outside digging in the dirt and working with her plants.
My mom, Shauni, grew up gardening; it was something she was taught from her parents and grandparents and it is something she and her three sisters continue to love to this day.
“Maybe it’s something you learn to love or you just love it from the start,” my mom said.
Over the years, I’ve had my fair share of gardening experiences helping mom out in our yard, assisting my grandma and watering my aunt Carey’s precious plants when she would go out of town. So, even though gardening isn’t my favorite thing, I’ve seen the good that comes from it.
So whether you’ve loved gardening your whole life or you’re new to it, there are a variety of benefits you can gain from it.
Mom also said that gardening is something that you either love or you don’t, “you definitely can’t force it on someone.”
Here are eight physical and mental health benefits gained from growing your own garden.
Gardening increases physical activity
Gardeners experience frequent moderate-intensity exercise while doing common tasks like digging, weeding and watering.
According to UT Health Austin, gardening offers a combination of aerobic exercise, strength training and flexibility. This can help with overall cardiovascular health, muscle strength and joint mobility, as well as overall physical well-being.
The regular exercise performed while gardening can help reduce the risk of mental health problems, diabetes, breast cancer, colon cancer and cardiovascular disease. Some studies have shown that gardening helps lower the risk of dementia, per Colorado State University.
The physical activity done while gardening can help to strengthen your heart, according to UNC HealthTalk.
Working in a garden can reduce stress and anxiety
One study showed that spending 30 minutes gardening helped to lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, per the New York Times.
As gardening can serve as a form of exercise, it helps lower stress and anxiety in that way, as well.
One way that gardening helps reduce stress is by adding structure to your day through routines such as watering and weeding. These regular tasks can add a soothing rhythm to your life to help reduce anxiety, according to the Mayo Clinic.
It also gives you something to focus your mind on and takes your thoughts away from other things that might stress you out, according to UNC Healthtalk.
Gardening can also be peaceful. My mom described her garden as “always a place I could go to find peace.”
Gardening can help you improve your diet
Growing your own produce in your garden encourages healthy eating habits, helping you have a more balanced and overall nutritious diet.
UT Health Austin advises choosing to plant a variety of fruits and vegetables that will offer a high concentration of minerals, vitamins and other essential nutrients. Planting seasonal fruits and vegetables can help increase the nutrient density and maximize the nutritional benefits you get from the produce.
Also, when you grow your own produce, you know that it hasn’t been treated with pesticides or other chemicals, per UNC Healthtalk. Growing your own food allows you to have more control over what you consume.
Working in your garden stimulates your brain
According to UT Health Austin, gardening can provide brain stimulation because it involves planning, problem-solving and decision-making. These activities all promote cognitive function and stimulate the brain.
Being outside and breathing fresh air can help maintain healthy blood flow in the brain.
Spending time in a natural environment has also been linked to enhanced cognitive performance, including increased creativity and problem-solving skills, improved attention and focus, and improved memory, per UT Health Austin.
Marita Tyrolt, the horticulture director at Red Butte Gardens, shared that she often uses the Latin names of plants.
“That keeps my brain sharp, as you get older, like I am. Perhaps, you know, I enjoy doing Sudoku or some other things too, but ordering plants by Latin names keeps your brain sharp, too,” Tyrolt said.
Gardening can boost your mood and make you happy
My aunt Carey shared a quote from Martha Stewart with me: “If you want to be happy for a year, get married. If you want to be happy for a decade, get a dog. And if you want to be happy for the rest of your life, make a garden.”
Gardening, specifically digging in the soil and getting your hands dirty, can help make you pretty happy.
According to Mayo Clinic, inhaling M. vaccae, which is a healthy bacteria that lives in soil, is known to increase levels of serotonin and reduce anxiety.
Joy from gardening can also come from the satisfaction of seeing your hard work pay off as your plants grow.
“I love gardening because it fills me with hope, joy, and peace. Each spring, when the bulbs begin to emerge, I feel a thrill of excitement and hope for the new season,” said my aunt Heidi.
Gardening, especially when you’re working in community or allotment gardens, can help you build social connections and combat loneliness, per the New York Times.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
