“Life begins the day you start a garden,” goes the famous Chinese proverb. Gardening enlivens any space and brightens spirits. Having grown up in a household that had a huge flower and vegetable garden, I could not think of an abode without one. But moving to a metropolitan city led to shrinking of dwelling space. Fortunately, my conditioning to having a garden propelled me to establish a terrace garden and invite the greens into the corners and open spaces of my new home.
We all know that humans have evolved through their living in forests. We have had a close bond with plants and trees since time immemorial. From fulfilling our basic survival needs with oxygen and food as well as playing an important role in the water cycle, plants with their bounties like fruits, vegetables, flowers also serve as feast to the eyes. A garden can easily be the most attractive, soothing and favourite place in the house.
The onset of the pandemic brought ‘never before experiences and situations’ for a lot of us. While the fear of catching infections was rampant, staying indoors created a wide range of anxieties too. However, as humans, we are gifted with innate intelligence to work our way through most kinds of chaos. So when we were not able to go out, many took to gardening in their homes to beat the blues. As a result, beautiful, innovative and soothing ‘green corners’ sprung up. Today, it is heartening to see people sustain their interest in gardening and appreciate nature’s delights while making the transition back to a normal pace of life.
Whether you have a balcony or a terrace, developing a garden on a day-to-day basis, where you take out some time to nurture and relish a small ecosystem, can be most gratifying.
Soulveda shares the benefits of gardening and how it affects mental health and adds to our emotional and physical wellbeing.
Being amidst plants, working with soil, admiring the blooming, colourful flowers and watching the plants grow and come to life, bear fruits is a sure shot way to release stress, lower high blood pressure and feel relaxed. Gardening is a naturally aligned practice as being close to nature is how we have evolved. Moving to concrete jungles that is, urban city landscapes, has taken us away from our natural instinct of being close to nature, adding to the stress and anxiety.
And remaining stressed for long periods can have adverse effects on our body, impacting our gut, muscles amongst other organs. A study cites that gardening and time spent outdoors, particularly in green spaces helps maintain a healthy heart rate and blood pressure. It tends to reduce stress and improve overall health.
A study cites that the heart rate and blood pressure goes down with adequate time spent outdoors, particularly in green spaces. It helps reduce stress, thus improving health.
In gardening, each plant may not reach fruition or survive – you still continue to care and nurture them all. Gardening conditions you to face obstacles, work through them and move forward.
Taking to active gardening and caring for your greens makes you physically active. Gardening serves a dual purpose – gives you immense joy as well as keeps you physically fit.
Some of you may opt to fulfil your passion of gardening at a community place, where you may find many others to share hacks, techniques and moments of laughter with. You can even become part of online platforms and exchange tips, further enhancing your network.
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