In its purest form, gardening is about connecting with the
earth and resetting our clocks to the simple, natural
rhythms of life. Try as we may, we can't really speed up
a tomato plant and make it grow by our time table. We
must adapt and in doing so, gardening offers us a gentle
reminder about what's really important in life: food,
water, warmth, a bit of loving attention, and some room to
grow.
Gardening is one of the fastest growing pastimes in the
U.S., as well as one of the healthiest. Beyond its
spiritual aspects, gardening can be a great stress
reliever. Digging, raking, planting, pruning, and
harvesting are physical activities that provide a
constructive outlet for tensions that build up in our
bodies. Gardening activities draw on your endurance, give
you flexibility and strength, build muscle and strengthen
the heart and lungs, as well as helping with weight
control.
And with numerous studies showing us that regular physical
activity reduces your risk of premature death, heart
disease, obesity, high blood pressure, adult-onset
diabetes, osteoporosis, stroke, depression and colon
cancer, it’s clear that we all must take responsibility for
ourselves and do what we can to stay healthy. So if you
think you might enjoy gardening, here are some ideas to get
you started:
Start small and plant things that you will enjoy. If
flowers make you happy, plant a few flowers. Over time you
will find what works and what doesn’t. Don’t worry too
much about the best way to do things. The most important
thing is to just get started.
If you are hoping to reduce stress through gardening, it's
important to make sure that working in the garden doesn't
simply create additional stresses. That means, take it
easy. Keep your gardening to-do list short. Stretch before
and after working in the garden to minimize aches and
pains. Take breaks to sit back, rest and appreciate what
you've accomplished. Listen to music while you work.
If a large garden sounds like too much work or you don’t
have the room, think about trying Micro-gardening. Grow
your own plants - food or flowers in containers rather than
in a plot of ground. The size of the garden is completely
up to you. There's micro-gardening, and then there's
MICRO-gardening.
If you have access to outside areas such as a patio,
balcony or porch, your micro-gardening opportunities
increase greatly. You may not even need to buy special
pots. If you have old flowerpots, buckets, half-barrels
or even concrete blocks, you have the makings of great
gardening. Make sure the containers are clean and have
drainage holes. If there aren't any holes, start with a
layer of pebbles before adding the dirt.
Herbs grow particularly well indoors. Depending on your
cooking style, one plant each can produce all the parsley,
dill, thyme, basil and oregano you need for an entire
season of meals. Follow the seed packet directions, or buy
individual seedlings, and you're on your way.
Remember that when container-gardening, the plants count on
you for their moisture. They might not receive enough rain
and dew to grow well, so water the plants when the dirt
starts to dry out.
Growing your own makes it easier to get the minimum
"five-a-day" servings of veggies and fruits the experts now
recommend for health. Recent research confirms that most
common fruits and vegetables come packed not only with the
vitamins and minerals already known to support good health,
but also with "phytonutrients" demonstrated to boost the
immune system, retard the aging process, and help heal or
prevent many chronic diseases.
Gardening is good exercise, especially if you take a pass
on all the latest power tools and put your muscle to the
tasks of digging, turning and spreading compost, collecting
and spreading mulch, hoeing and picking rocks. Activities
like these burn calories, build muscle and strengthen the
heart and lungs.
Even a small vegetable garden can save money. To ensure
savings, though, a backyard gardener needs to stick to the
basic tools and supplies and keep a tight rein on the
temptation to own all the newest gadgets. For the biggest
savings in energy, dollars and space, look into intensive
gardening, the art of producing a lot of food in a small
space.
You just can't beat gardening for stress relief. The simple
acts of planting seeds and tending plants can restore
balance and perspective during the most wrenching life
crises. Research has demonstrated that people heal faster
after surgery when exposed to natural scenery - even
looking at photographs of green plants speeds recovery.
So what are you waiting for? Get started today!
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