To garden or not to garden. The question many ask is “Why does gardening make you feel so good?”
Nurseries opened early this year due to warmer weather and those of us who cannot wait for the season to begin, were excited.
There are those who love to garden and spend winter planning the arrival of spring, those who just appreciate the results but don’t want to get their hands dirty, and those who really don’t much care.
I am a gardener; I enjoy the process. Being referred to as a gardening addict is not a negative to me.
During the pandemic, many people who had never gardened before became gardeners due to restrictions of other entertainment. Many of them were converted and experienced the pleasure and joy gardens bring.
The garden at our townhouse unit is very small but can keep me happy for hours. I go out for a few minutes to check the day's growth and hours pass by with me digging, removing winter debris, watching the green shoots of spring bulbs returning, and trimming back, as I witness the wonder of nature.
My garden had no rhyme, reason, or planned design. It just happens, resulting in confusion, with too many plants.
The reality to me is one cannot have too many plants. I call it “planned confusion” but mostly it never follows the plans I have for when I see a plant I like I can’t resist buying it.
This year, my husband, David, gave me, among other things, an early birthday gift to purchase all the plants I wanted and a few items from the Garden Gate whicho was closing. I was in my element.
Recently, I found an article in Psychology Today that listed reasons we garden. Below is one quote.
“Getting your hands dirty makes you feel good. According to research putting your hands in soil puts you in contact with mood enhancing soil bacteria called Mycobacterium vaccae. This triggers the release of serotonin to your brain. Serotonin is a mood boosting happy chemical that works as a natural antidepressant and strengthens the immune system.”
That alone should be sufficient to attract us to gardening, without even a mention of the pleasure of being surrounded by nature.
Countless studies have proven spending time in nature makes us feel better. To create our own garden, no matter how small, we can have a haven on our property. We can become absorbed, and our sole focus can be on the garden which eases stress levels and ultimately improves our attention span in other areas.
Being in the garden can take your sole attention and become the focus.
Encouraging plants to grow, to help the earth replenish itself, is a creative endeavour that is a form of physical exercise which again adds to the endorphins and lowers stress levels; a very pleasant and rewarding way to exercise.
For apartment and condo dwellers, you can grow plants on your balcony or deck in planters or boxes, or if you have neither, in a sunny corner of your living space. You will still get some benefit even if you don’t get our hands too dirty.
I have both. My back deck becomes my haven when at home in the spring. With a small fountain, annuals in planters and comfortable chairs, I can sit and read, have a cup of tea, or an evening glass of wine with friends. I feel the breeze, listen to the birds and relax.
Yes I am a gardening addict and no mater how often I admire some other people's glorious, well planned and manicured gardens; like the Galt Horticultural Society gardens on Grand Avenue, which are well worth visiting, there is nothing that brings me as much as pleasure as my own garden.
As I write this column on Thursday, May 23, my 82nd birthday, for publication on May 27, I feel very lucky that I can still garden in spite of my tendency to fall, which happens too frequently as I age and requires a more careful approach.
It still beings immense pleasure. To all my fellow gardeners, enjoy your garden while continuing to give back to our planet and be thankful for this gift.
