Why Gardening is Good for your Wellbeing
I never thought I’d be writing a blog post about how much I love gardening. In my previous fast-paced life, I had no time for my garden, allowing it to grow wild and unruly without paying much attention to what was growing there. I’ve always loved flowers and trees and spending time outdoors, but I just didn’t have the time to focus on this. Nowadays, it’s a different story. I enjoy being surrounded by nature so much that we moved to the countryside, relocating to a house with sprawling gardens that sits beside a woodland and among vistas of green rolling hills. My garden may not be the walled garden of my dreams, but it’s my pride and joy. The place I spend most of my time; working, reading, relaxing and entertaining outdoors whenever the weather permits. I’m even writing this blog post from my garden.
Why I believe gardening soothes your soul
I don’t just love spending time in my garden, I really really enjoy getting my hands dirty: planting seeds and bulbs, weeding, digging up plants and pruning. I find the process of sticking my hands into the soil or pinching out early buds to be calming and almost meditative. There are no distractions from social media, emails or other technology. It’s just me, the plants and the wildlife that occasionally creeps by. I’m not going to lie, certain bugs still make me squeamish, but I love listening to the bird song, keeping my eyes peeled for rare butterfly and watching the deer who shyly emerge from the woods to see if they can sample any tasty treats from our garden.
I find the whole process of gardening to be soothing. If I’m feeling stressed or worried about something, stepping outside (even if just for a few minutes) can immediately calm me down. It’s a similar effect that I’ve written about before, that just being surrounded by nature is incredibly good for your mental health. Wild swimming and forest bathing can have similar benefits. Everything from planning out what I’m going to grow to tending to my plants sets me at ease. One of my favourite activities is filling up the watering can and quenching the thirst of my plants; a simple but important daily task. It’s these simple tasks, such as weeding or pruning, that really help to relieve stress or anxiety. You don’t need to focus on anything other than the task in hand, and there are no worries or immediate urgency.
Why I love slow, imperfect gardening
My methods of gardening are far from perfect, however. Other than watching Gardener’s World and following a few inspirational pro gardeners on Instagram, I don’t really know what I’m doing. That’s the beauty of it though: unless you are striving to have a perfect garden, you can learn along the way by trial and error. A plant is really unhappy in it’s location? Try moving the pot into the shade and take note if it perks up.
I have a slow, imperfect ethos towards my garden. My garden itself is a tricky one, so I’ve learned not to stress out about making it' ‘perfect’. The terrace outside our front door is my favourite space - this is where we spend most of our time, so it’s where I’ve placed all my favourite plants, most of them in large terracotta pots. Some things flourish, others fade away or don’t appear at all - but regardless, it is a lovely space full of greenery and colour, which makes me feel happy. My favourite plants I’ve grown here over the past year have been tulips, poppies, geraniums and dahlias. This year was our first with our greenhouse, which has been an experiment in itself. I’ve grown flowers and vegetables from seed in here, as well as establishing plug plants such as tiny tomato and courgette seedlings that have grown to give us a plentiful harvest. We even have a blooming aubergine plant, currently growing it’s first fruit. Yet, there is still lots to learn, in terms of temperature, light and space. Some plants have frazzled, others are stunted. Around the back of our house we have a tiered garden where flowers grow wild and we plant our vegetables. We currently have potatoes, leeks, onions and red cabbages growing here, and have had more bountiful harvests in previous years. Next year, I plan to look into permaculture a bit more, and grow complimentary vegetables alongside the flowers that I adore. We also have a wild and untamed front garden on a steep slope that currently baffles us. My gardening is far from perfect!
I love this slow and steady method to gradually improving our garden. Every garden is different, and it’s all about learning as you go along. It also makes the process more enjoyable. The reason gardening makes me feel calm and alleviates stress is because I don’t take it too seriously, and allow myself to take it slow and steady, making mistakes along the way.
I’m already planning my garden for next year. The spring bulbs are mostly ordered, and I’m looking forward to growing more produce and cut flowers. But I will be taking it slow, and allowing for plenty of imperfections along the way.
