Have you ever considered gardening? You should. It’s a very peaceful and therapeutic hobby. I never thought that getting my clothes dirty, hands torn up, and fingernails beyond repair would equate to happiness. Here are my top 7 reasons to garden!
My sister would never have imagined in a million years that I’d become a country chicken farmer and gardener. I never took home economics in high school. I had to call home in college to find out how long to boil hot dogs. I preferred reading books when we went camping than going fishing. Life is funny how we change. I couldn’t imagine my life any different now.
CNN wrote an article about why Gardening is Good for your Health, and NPR wrote an article about how Gardening Can Help Troubled Minds Heal.
Top 7 Reasons to Garden
Consider getting your hands a little dirty!
1. Organic Healthy Food
You have every control of what you grow and what you are putting into your garden. Local fresh vegetables are 50% higher in nutrients than vegetables you get in the grocery store. And who wants all those chemicals (and still unknown after effects) in your body?!
2. (Back-breaking) Exercise
Gardening is an excellent form of exercise. Research shows that you can burn upwards of 300-400 calories an hour with moderate gardening. I know personally that staying in a squat for 60 seconds is killer! Lifting and shoveling soil is a great arm workout.
3. Save Money
Organic produce is expensive. When was the last time you went to a Farmer’s Market. I easily spend $50 each time. I will be talking about the benefits of a greenhouse and how If you plan well, you can have food for not only the summer and early fall months, but also throughout the winter months. Last winter, I started canning pickles and salsa, and drying herbs.
4. Well deserved Flowers
I love getting bouquets of flowers, however, let’s be honest, they seem to only come at special occasions from your husband. I love being able to cut a few flowers, surround them in some chamomile and sage and have them on the table year round.
This is one of my FAVORITE ways to ignite my creativity and my happiness. Flowers just make my life better. If you are feeling the same way, grab my Brian Bliss Activation quick start guide below!
5. Connect with Nature
When you have your hands in soil and nurture a seed to grow into food there is a sense of connection with nature. My husband always has to yell at me to come in for lunch when I’m outside gardening, because I lose all track of time. There is just something “old school” about growing your own food. It really makes you appreciate the good you grow.
6. Alternative Healing
Living as far out as we do from emergency services, I’ve started learning alternative methods for healing. Not only herbs from the garden, but essential pressed oils play a role in historical healing throughout the centuries. Gardening has been proven to reduce stress, anger, depression and pain levels and enhance alertness.
7. Sense of Peace (& Accomplishment)
Similar to yoga, where I feel a sense of peace after a practice, I feel a huge sense of peace after spending some time in my garden. There is nothing better to see what your hands can accomplish than gardening!
In the next few days, we’ll cover using a greenhouse, designing your garden and planting your garden. I hope you try a small garden this year, even if you were always known for killing everything green like me! These 7 reasons above are just my top reasons to garden.
We used to have a garden in our old house. Since we moved we haven’t put a new one in. Probably need to do that.
I would love to have a garden! These are all great reasons to start.
I think the sense of peace comes first for me. I love the sun on my back, my hands connecting with the earth. I hope to garden well into my years. Thanks for this, Beth PS Oh and the rewards, the flowers, veggies, are wonderful.
I do not have a green thumb at all, but I want to garden for all of these reasons especially for fresh organic foods. Thanks for sharing it will keep me motivated!