4 Reasons Why You Should Start Gardening Now

According to a recent news story, Okinawa’s residents in Japan have the world’s highest ratio of centenarians, Dr. Bradley Willcox of the University of Hawaii has told the British Broadcasting Company that in fact “In Okinawa, they say that anybody who grows old healthfully needs an ikigai, or reason for living. Gardening gives you that something to get up for every day”. Gardening is definitely a hobby designed to help you live longer, gentle on both mind and body. In this post, we will share four ways a garden can actually help you live longer.

1. The ultimate stress relief

One study took a good look at 30 allotment gardeners. After being given a stressful task, they were then randomly assigned either 30 minutes of outdoor gardening or 30 minutes of indoor reading on their own allotment plot. Gardening and reading each led to decreases in cortisol during the recovery period, but decreases were significantly stronger in the gardening group. 

By being outside, you are also exposed to the sun and therefore vitamin D which is linked to morale.  Mindfulness can also be practised fully when in a garden, away from any distraction, being sat in a garden surrounded by your beautiful plants, feeling the breeze against your skin and birds singing, it truly does wonders for your mental health. 

2. Low-impact exercise

It’s not a secret that exercising is amazing for your body but also your mental health. According to a study by the University of Harvard, incorporating as little as 15 minutes of physical activity a day can boost your life span by three years! It doesn’t have to be a run or intense interval circuit training, just spending 15 minutes in your garden, pulling weeds, watering your plants or pushing your lawnmower could help you burn some calories.  Not only could you shed some weight but most importantly help improve your heart’s health. Gardening is also a very low-impact way of exercising, gentle on joints. Older people can also benefit from carrying pots around as it helps their inner equilibrium and balance. 

3. Spending time with your loved ones

Gardening can definitely be a great bonding experience. If you have kids or grandkids, they’ll love learning and discovering the different plants and trees, it’s a great way to teach them important facts about nature but also great to have a bit of fun together! While some kids love running and getting dirty, others prefer to stay indoors and play games but setting up their own little planting space with them could help them to reconnect with the outside world.

Spending time in your garden can also be a nice way to spend some time with your partner, it actually helps improve team working, patience and kindness towards each other. Sharing a hobby is actually key to a healthy and loving relationship. 

4. Growing your own food

If you decide to grow your own vegetables, you’re definitely doing yourself a favour. By doing so, you’re more likely to eat more vegetables and fruits, you are also less exposed to pesticides and fertilisers and lastly vegetables that ripen in a garden have more nutrients than store-bought vegetables. Here you can check out the Wichita tree pros for your garden.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive, you can start as little as growing some cherry tomatoes in a pot or you can choose to go all-out with a polytunnel, similar to a greenhouse, they’re especially great if you are fond of avocadoes and chillies. Of course, it all depends on the size of your garden, but you would be surprised how easy it is to turn a garden to a plant paradise.