Just the sight and smell of flowers can be therapeutic, but getting plants to grow is even more empowering, especially when it engages so many of your senses.

While most of us focus on using our logical right brain to solve problems, it usually works more creatively and effectively when collaborating with our emotional and sensory-rich left brain. By sorting seeds, digging into soil, or pruning leaves, you allow your brain to wander into more pathways where it may find a solution you had not considered before.

Gardening also gets you moving up and down, engaging more muscles that you strengthen for other tasks. It gives you a sense of purpose, distracting you from ruminating, while nurturing new growth in your plants and yourself. Being responsible for a specific space and the seedlings within it provides a daily routine that helps you develop new roots.

By connecting to the earth, you become more grounded. Not only are your fingers digging into the soil, but you are also feeling the breeze, smelling new fragrances, and exposing yourself to more colors. If you choose to grow vegetables, you will also be rewarded with the sunny taste of your own produce.

While it can be solitary, gardening is also a social activity. It’s a great conversation starter since fellow gardeners love to share tips and success stories with others who share their hobby. Activities like weeding or harvesting together create a relaxed environment where you get to know others better as you work towards a common goal.

Sharing the yield from your garden – whether it’s seeds, squash, or sunflowers – introduces you to neighbors or reinforces bonds with friends. You can also donate overflow vegetables to charities, such as food banks.

Of course, enjoying your own food is a real treat. Using your own herbs to season dishes or to create a natural remedy enriches your life as you take pride in your accomplishment.

All these activities boost your self-confidence, mental well-being, memory, brain function, and mood. It’s a great way to bust stress and lessen your anxiety since plants make no judgment. How can creating new life do anything but make you feel more positive? It’s a great escape from sitting inside while being bombarded by bad news or repetitive storylines on your screen.

Gardening therapy empowers people facing a variety of internal challenges, such as personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, learning disabilities, eating disorders, and addictions, by giving them a healthy and productive distraction. Learning the various skills and plant types also helps provide a fun focus for people facing dementia, psychotic disorders, or depression.

There are also wonderful physical benefits to gardening as well. Getting outside and moving around is just the first step on that journey. Stooping and standing use several large muscles, which helps with your stamina and balance. This pays off with better mobility, fitness, sleep, and overall health.

You also use fine motor skills to plant seeds, weed beds, and prune leaves. That keeps your fingers nimble as your joints age. It also gets your eyes away from static screens as they take in natural scenes instead. 

If you use a wheelchair or walker or have health issues that prevent you from working at ground level, you can still enjoy gardening by working in a raised bed. Much of the planning is done away from the soil, so you can still enjoy picking and ordering plants and sorting through your seeds. Make sure your bed is the right width so you can reach every inch of it once it is time to get your hands dirty.

The surface around the bed should be wide enough for your chair to fit comfortably and designed so you don’t slip on a smooth or wet surface. Consider a slope around it so water drains away yet makes it easy for you to wheel up to it without dropping the plants or tools in your lap.

To get started, find a space where you can get growing, whether it’s on your property, a friend’s place, or a community garden. Draw on the talents of friends, books, or a horticultural society to learn more about the types of plants you wish to grow. 

Experiment a little and have fun. If your first plants don’t survive, celebrate the fact that you now have more compost material! You can always grow more, so keep learning and you will blossom into a proud gardener.

Reference: https://thelandscapeservice.com/2020/01/07/horticultural-therapy-for-mental-physical-health/