By Christine Reid.
At the end of another long, hard day, you slowly make your way home in rush hour traffic. More road construction...will it ever end? Another driver cuts you off...grrr! You start stewing about the report that your boss wants handed in a day early. As you swing into the driveway you see that the neighbor’s dog got into the trash can again, spilling fast food containers, yogurt cups and coffee grounds all over the pavement. Rats! Your head is pounding from the stress, your back is aching from sitting all day and you suddenly have a strong urge to chuck it all and head for a deserted island. Go ahead, run away...to your backyard!
For some, the backyard is just a place to grill a burger or have a few flowers or maybe a couple of shade trees. However, more and more people are discovering that the secret to a less stressful life can be found in the simple act of gardening. Having a garden can give you more than just a few fresh tomatoes or a pretty daisy; it can also play a big part in promoting tranquility and relaxation. Our lives are busier than ever and anything that can help us slow down is worth doing. A moderate amount of stress is normal and good, since it keeps us alert and focused. However, if you have too much stress for too long a time, it can be very damaging, both mentally and physically. Stress-related health issues range from heart disease and diabetes to asthma and depression. Finding productive ways to reduce stress will not only improve the quality of our lives, it could possibly even lengthen them.
You shouldn’t just barge out the back door, throw some plants in a hastily dug hole and expect everything to be better. A little planning will help you to be successful in the garden and that in itself will produce feelings of well-being.
If you haven’t gardened before, start small at first. For an in-ground garden, a four by four foot garden bed is a good size. Get your soil tested to see if you need to add any amendments. Working some organic matter, like compost, into the garden bed will benefit any soil. Make sure the planting area gets adequate sunlight and has good drainage. Decide which plants you’d like to grow and pick the right time and place to start them. There are many gardening resources available to help you begin, such as the internet, the library, local nurseries, gardening clubs and your county extension office.
In addition, you can grow many different things in pots and hanging baskets. That’s gardening, too! As long as the pot (clay or plastic work well) is at least 10 inches wide and 12 inches deep and has quality potting soil with good drainage, it’ll work fine. You can grow hot or sweet peppers, radishes, carrots, onions, basil, mints and even flowering vines, if you give them something to climb on. The most important thing is to keep it fun. Gardening should relieve stress, not create it!
There are several reasons that gardening helps people feel better. While our jobs may require us to pay painstaking attention at times, working in the garden is often made up of simple, repetitive motions that can help our minds take a break and just relax. In other words, while your hands work at weeding or tying back plants, you can turn your mind off for a while. Working outdoors is also a good way to get some exercise. As you push the shovel into the dirt, you’re breathing in fresh air, sending oxygen to all parts of your body. As long as you don’t overdo it, manual labor is a great way to relieve tension. Finally, with the recent push to avoid the sun in order to prevent skin cancer, people might forget that we still need some exposure to sunlight. Spending an appropriate amount of time in the sun helps your body to manufacture vitamin D and also lifts your spirits.
Besides some of the physical advantages to working in the garden, there are emotional ones. Strolling around, seeing how big the pumpkins are getting, checking the squash plants or harvesting some carrots to munch on can help you feel more connected to nature. And, if you have flowers that attract hummingbirds and butterflies, just watching them flit and hover requires you to stand still and observe. Along with admiring the way the garden looks, breathing in aromatic herbs like rosemary, lavender, chamomile and others is believed to promote calmness. Avoid the chemical-laden artificial fragrances and plant your own natural ones.
Start a garden this year! Soon you’ll be able to brew up some soothing tea with your home grown herbs, sit in the garden with a good book and end your day with peace and quiet. Now, doesn’t that sound like more fun than cursing the neighbor’s dog?
Please send any questions to [email protected] or call (512) 398-6011.
