Gardening For Your Soul

Do you garden? Did you know that gardening can contribute to health and happiness?

It's healthy physically:

• All that pulling, lifting, and digging is a great way to expend calories. A person weighing around 180 pounds will burn about 200 calories after 30 minutes of gardening. 
• Gardens are good motivation for regular exercise! Get's you outside and sweating, ready for more healthy activities.
• People who consume diets rich in fruits and vegetables and get at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day or so are less likely to develop a host of illnesses, including heart disease.

It's healthy mentally:

• Gardens have been viewed as places of wonder, capable of restoring health and peace to those who entered. 
• Gardening inspires patience and contemplation. 
• Being responsible for the care of another living thing "can be very powerful for feeling good about oneself.
• Doctors in Egypt prescribed walks through gardens to improve mental well-being.
• Monks of yore used their gardens to soothe travelers for homesickness and depression.
• Multiple studies show that a plant-filled environment helps people relax, raises pain tolerance for people with chronic disorders, and improves moods. 
• One of these studies, published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, found that regular exposure to natural environments such as gardens helps people recover from the ill effects of stress more quickly. 

It's healthy for kids:

• Get the kids involved
• Your children may moan and groan about having to help in the garden, but you should still insist that they partake. Not only will they develop a lifelong love of things that grow, they'll have you to thank for a healthier diet.
• Researchers at the University of California, Davis, had fourth-graders learn about gardening by doing things such as planting seeds indoors and outdoors, spending time recognizing types of weeds, and studying proper harvest techniques. After 17 weeks of gardening, the children made a surprising discovery -- they liked many vegetables that kids are known for hating. Among the vegetables the children grew to love: carrots, broccoli, snow peas, and zucchini. Now that's the miracle of gardening.

 My mini garden

Hey, if none of these benefits were convincing... plants make oxygen. Who doesn't need oxygen? It's a win-win