More than just Gardening

Picture this: bushes of roses, fuchsias and hydrangeas, tomato plants and even your own little peony tree in your garden, that is painted in every colour; blooming in the rays of the sun of a late May Sunday afternoon.

You’re sipping your last coffee of the day and think ‘My, my… how beautiful is this garden of mine’ and you’re so grateful you took up gardening when you did because now you can’t imagine not waking up in the morning and drinking your coffee in front of this picturesque setting that you can call your own.

Many would do anything to have a beautiful, colourful garden with big bright flowers and even some vegetables, but not many believe that gardening is for them.

When, in actuality, the act of gardening itself can be soul soothing if we let it be and if we open our hearts and minds to try something new, from a different perspective.



Changing the perspective

Think of the last time you have challenged yourself and your perspective on a topic. Take working out for example.

For years we have believed working out should only be done by people wanting to lose weight or put muscle on. Slowly but surely, we came to realise the great impact exercising has on our cognitive functions. More and more studies came out with the same result to prove something we have been suspecting and have been feeling for a long time – that exercising is not only great for our mental health, it’s vital for a happy, long life.

Gardening is a great way of getting in some fresh air. There is a certain amount of time necessary for a seed to develop enough to be considered a plant and until it does, it will need a lot of water and sun shine; but also enough care from its owner. Gardening is a great way to spend a few hours of your day outside admiring, thinking strategically at what’s the next step and caring for your veggies or flowers like they are your kids (if you don’t believe us, take up gardening and see for yourself!).

Not only do you get to be outside, enjoy the sun (not too much though – make sure you protect yourself from the UV lights!) and the fresh air, you are also likely to engage in physical activity. A simple hour you spend gardening can burn you up to 330 calories, hence why the National Institutes of Health recommends 30-40 minutes of gardening per day as a way of exercising in itself!

As well as getting your heart rate up, we know exercising is a really good stress reliever. It releases a cocktail of feel good hormones and helps with alleviate any pain. Read more about the benefits physical activity has on our brains and cognitive functions here.



As mentioned before, gardening will have you spending a lot of time in the sun which is also great for getting your Vitamin D! Not only will you get your vitamin levels up, it will also improve your mood. During the winter months, there is a known type of depression called  Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) , which comes and goes based on the season we are in. It is directly linked to the lack of sunlight that we as Brits get during the autumn and winter months. Because of it, some people end up feeling low and irritable during the colder season, which then improves when summer days come along. There is a direct correlation to the lack of sun we get during the winter season, and all the vitamins and good feelings that come attached to it and the irritability of someone suffering from SAD during the colder months, meaning us as humans are created to be outside, getting fresh air and sunlight as often as we can!

Another obvious outcome from gardening is the possibility of eating healthier! When you’re in control of what you garden, what fertilizer you use and so on, you are able to harvest your veggies and have them instead of supermarket ones, fully knowing what took to get them ready to be eaten. You can have your favourite vegetables in the ground waiting for you to make a fresh, full of life salad that will be 10 times tastier than made with supermarket veggies – take our word for it!

Therefore making it easier for you to get your 5 a day as instructed by the NHS! We all know how amazing our bodies feel after having a fulfilling, full of nutrients meal - you could be having that every day all day!

There are so many benefits of gardening, more than we can fit in a blog post! The good news is that you have all the time in the world to discover that for yourself by doing it. Because of the current world situation, we are forced to stay inside and entertain ourselves the best we can, trying out new things and be open to the possibility of finding new hobbies we enjoy! Therefore the last benefit we will mention is the entertainment side! Gardening can easily occupy a few hours a day if you choose to, making this a perfect quarantine activity!

Find all your Gardening necessities here!