Health and Gardening

Gardening and seeing a garden has long been proven to improve health. Studies have been carried out in hospitals, cities and work places to prove that seeing plants and or being around them improves health. Patients improved and people performed better at work simply because people had access to and or could see some forms of green and plant life. You know yourself sitting in your garden on a sunny afternoon in the height of summer helps you to forget everything and you automatically relax.

The RHS did an article on “Huge’ Savings if NHS prescribes more gardening” the article goes on to discuss how it helps patients in hospital to recover, but also helps improve peoples health in general by being more fit and healthy when gardening. “digging for half an hour burns 202 calories, the same as lifting weights” I have to say working in a garden especially a lavender farm definitely improved my health and increased my muscle mass, or was it just because it was on a hill?

One thing I have to say since living in a city I definitely appreciate parks and open spaces, living in the country and being surrounded by gardens all my life spoilt me. It’s interesting the different perspectives you have in the city to that of the country, I am very happy to see weeds and anything remotely resembling a plant in the city where as in the country I turn in to more of a plant snob.

The fact of the matter is that gardens and gardening does improve our mental and physical health no matter where you are in the world. It’s so important to protect and fight for these in areas where there are very few gardens such as cities and hospitals. I believe that in the future there will be a bigger push to preserve and create gardens for all.

For now lets just sit back in our gardens or green spaces and remember before doing any gardening do Tai Chi first and wear a sun hat and sun cream.