For anyone juggling the needs of your family, job, friends, and other commitments, adding one more item to the list may sound like the final straw. Before you agree and walk away, find out why caring for a plant or a garden is likely one of the best things you can do for YOU.
While you are nurturing a small growing, living thing, you are tapping into some of the greatest sources of joy possible.
First of all, getting your hands dirty and feeling soil between your fingers is a primal feeling that helps to ground you. Like any tactile activity, it taps into the creative center of your brain and helps you to relax. The scents, tastes, and textures of the plants bring you joy and comfort as you get to know them better. You can easily lose yourself in your thoughts while weeding or repotting plants. As time slips by, you realize how much of an escape this is.
As your plant(s) grow, you feel empowered by a sense of accomplishment. You created life and the evidence is right in front of you. (This form of life also doesn’t talk back and lets you sleep through the night. Bonus!)
Just looking at plant life has proven to be calming. Researchers at Chungnam National University in Korea tested this by having 24 men do computer work then transplant seedlings. They concluded that “active interaction with indoor plants can reduce physiological and psychological stress compared with mental work.” Working with plants and soil suppressed the reactionary nature of the sympathetic nervous system activity and lowered blood pressure while promoting “comfortable, soothed, and natural feelings.”1
Plants also purify the air in your home. If you have them outside, you get out in the fresh air more often and develop muscular strength by carrying tools, bending, and lifting often without realizing the power of these actions. If your garden yields vegetables, then you have even more pride to enjoy as you savor the fruits of your labor.
Shopping for plants and seeds is a guilt-free form of a treat since you know it will yield so much more than other merchandise. Browsing the colors and plant varieties can easily become an enjoyable pastime on its own.
Tending to your plants often becomes a chore on your to-do list that you look forward to doing. Watering and trimming produces immediate, tangible results that you know will help your plant to thrive. Gardening, even on a small scale indoors, creates an emotional attachment between you and the greenery as you nurture it. You take pride in its success and worry if it starts to wither.
Connecting to plants can help you if you are having trouble relating to the people in your life. You hone your skills for empathy and compassion, even if you are struggling with trust, isolation, or addiction.2 Horticultural therapy is rooted in biophilia, the notion that humans have genetic and instinctive links to plants and the natural world. That is why a walk in the woods is so therapeutic as well. This type of therapy helps abuse survivors, addicts, and elderly people struggling with memory problems, giving them something positive and energizing to give them hope for a better future.
You can find the benefits of this “green therapy” by yourself or by sharing your hobby with others. Horticultural societies or other gardening groups bring people together for this shared interest so you can meet other people there. You can also connect with neighbors or other people at community gardens if you get a plot there. Gardening advice is a great conversation starter if you are looking for common ground with new acquaintances.
Even if you live in a tiny apartment, you can find a corner of a room for a plant. It will give you a reason to roll out of bed and open the blinds to new light, which will help brighten the day for both of you. No matter what your age or experience, you can start nurturing a plant at any time.
You will use your hands and keep them nimble. You will learn continually about new plants and how to keep them thriving. You will feel needed and rewarded with new growth.
As you grow, your previous worries may be less consequential in the broader scheme. Not only will your physical health blossom, but your mental health may improve as well. You will learn to wait for good things to happen after you plant seeds.
Start small and discover more about plants and yourself on this journey. Soon, you may branch out to more varieties of challenging types or simply surround yourself with greenery. Doesn’t that sound delightful?
References:
- Interaction with indoor plants may reduce psychological and physiological stress by suppressing autonomic nervous system activity in young adults: a randomized crossover study, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4419447/
- The Use of Sensory Perception of Plants in Horticultural Therapy of Alcohol Addiction, https://www.ahta.org/journal-of-therapeutic-horticulture-27-2—2017
3. https://www.refinery29.com/en-ca/horticultural-plant-therapy-mental-health-benefit
