By Donita Brannon
Gardening is one of the top ten leisure activities in the U.S., along
with reading, watching TV and enjoying sports activities. Each year
more and more Americans are discovering the pleasure of gardening.
Sure, many of us enjoy gardening, but do you realize it can actually
improve your quality of life? Gardening can provide exercise, relief from
stress, and the fresh fruits and vegetables we need for good nutrition!
When enjoyed together with loved ones, gardening can improve family
bonds and teach important life skills along the way. Gardening is an
activity that involves all of our senses: we can see the beautiful colors of
the flowers we grow and enjoy their fragrance; we can feel the warmth
of the sun on our skin as soil sifts through our fingers; we can hear the
songbirds and chirping crickets in our backyard, and savor the flavors
of the fresh herbs and vegetables that we grow. In a sense, gardening
allows us to connect with our body, mind and soul.
These days, it seems we are all striving to achieve a higher level
of fitness. One of the benefits of gardening is the physical activity
involved. Bending, digging, lifting, and mowing all provide a terrific
workout. Gardening incorporates important elements of repetition and
movement, such as raking and sweeping. Some gardening even involves
resistance principles similar to those of weight training. Anyone who
has unloaded a truckload of mulch or planted an entire bed of azaleas
can attest to this. The types of exercise involved in gardening can
help prevent heart disease, obesity, and high blood pressure; while improving endurance, flexibility and strength. Depending on the
level of intensity, gardening can burn 250-500 calories an hour! Not
to mention the fresh air you’re breathing and the Vitamin D you’re
getting from the sun.
We hear these reports on a daily basis: Increasing our intake of fresh
fruit and vegetables can improve our overall health. A low-fat, plant-
based diet can improve blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar,
lowering our risk for heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Planting a
vegetable garden can provide your family with delicious and nutritious
food. Growing herbs and using them to flavor the food we serve helps
to reduce the use of sugar and salt. Children are much more likely to
eat their vegetables if they’ve actually helped to grow them. In fact,
I have gardening friends whose children love to snack on fresh snow
peas right out of the garden. By involving your children in the process,
from choosing which seeds to plant, harvesting the finished product,
and preparing a dish, you’re not only teaching them good nutritional
habits, you’re instilling a sense of accomplishment and encouraging a
love of nature. Valuable life lessons indeed!
When I was a child, I always preferred a bowl of fresh-picked cherry
tomatoes to a handful of M&Ms – a choice I continue to make today.
If given the choice, wouldn’t you prefer a fresh, naturally grown tomato
that you’ve tended with your own hands over one that was grown under
artificial light and then shipped to a grocery store? Unless you buy organically grown products, (a tad more in price, although well worth it) you have no way of knowing what kind of fertilizer or pesticide goes into that store-bought stuff. When you grow your own, you control just what goes in, on and around your food. To me, that’s peace of mind. And you can’t put a price on that.
Beyond the obvious physical benefits of gardening, are countless psychological benefits as well. Planning a landscape requires creativity and imagination. A beautiful garden that you have created yourself can be a source of satisfaction, pride and accomplishment. Maintaining and nurturing the plants that we grow gives us a sense of purpose. Joining a garden club, plant society or community garden allows opportunities for social interaction. Sharing plants, cuttings or fresh vegetables is a sure way to make new friends.
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