Getting out in the garden to plant vegetables, fruit trees or a simple yet beautiful flower patch is so simple, yet there are many great benefits for your overall health and wellbeing.
It’s no surprise that many of our patients here at Churchill Private Hospital and Specialist Centre cite gardening as one of their main forms of exercise, which helps to keep their muscles and joints healthy.
It’s also a reason why we are proud to be a major sponsor of Rapaura Springs Garden Marlborough.
Here are the top 5 reasons why gardening is good for you.
1. Physical exercise
Being active in the fresh air and sunshine (or even the rain, if you’re that keen) is one of the top reasons why gardening is great for body and soul.
Just a few minutes of gentle activity in the garden – weeding the vegie patch or pruning – is a beneficial workout for many parts of your body, all while soaking in that great Vitamin D.
2. Enjoyment and stress relief
Getting your hands dirty in the soil has long been considered one of the best ways to relieve stress, and it’s easy to see why.
Surely there are few things more rewarding than putting in a couple of hours of pleasant work to be rewarded with the sight of colourful flowers or neat rows of vegetable seedlings. Admiring them from your window for the next few weeks is enjoyment in itself.
3. Fresh and healthy food
Once those seedlings that you so enjoyed planting in your kitchen garden have sprouted into edible produce, you reap the second reward of fresh, tasty and above all healthy food.
What’s more satisfying than serving up your own carrots and salad for dinner? You’ll also be doing your overall health a great favour by consuming such healthy and super fresh food.
4. Save money
Gardening really is a win-win for the wallet if you have an area of garden you can dig into.
Planting a punnet of baby lettuces, a packet of carrot seeds or even an apple tree instead of buying at the supermarket is bound to save you food costs in the long run.
And if you have your own compost bin to reinvigorate the soil without having to buy compost, then you stand to save even more dollars (and deal with your food waste sustainably).
5. Do it at your own pace
In the garden, there’s no time pressure, no rush to beat anyone to the finish and certainly no reason to stress.
There’s just you, the birds and the soil. Whatever your physical ability, gardening is something most people can manage if they allow themselves the time and space to do so.
From a 10-minute spot of weeding, digging around with a trowel to sprinkle a packet of seeds to hours of cutting and pruning, every bit of effort makes a visible difference.
