8 Amazing Benefits of Gardening

I’m going to get more personal than usual in this post, since the driving force behind it is why I started gardening in the first place. I can’t say enough about the reasons why I garden, so I want to go a little more in-depth about that in this post. Here are 8 amazing benefits of gardening.

As I mention on my About Me page, I was in a pretty dark place in my life when the gardening bug bit me, so to speak. I was walking into a grocery store (or out, I can’t remember at this point) while living in New Mexico when a pretty pink mini rose bush caught my eye. Those roses ended up coming home with me and placed near the front door of my apartment.

I bought a cute container to place the mini roses in, and looked forward to seeing those flowers every time I came or went, as well as care for them. I was in the depths of depression at the time, but a friend of mine told me that wanting to care for plants was a good sign, that I was headed in the right direction, and I was! Depression is a horrible thing and those little plants got my mind off of it.

Fast forward a few years and I am happy to say that the depression is in the past. I still struggle with depression and anxiety from time to time, but gardening has had a way of healing me and making me happy. There are many other amazing benefits to gardening, which I mention below.

Lifting Depression

Plants and flowers have a way of lifting moods. I love it when my husband brings me home a bouquet of flowers. I thought about requesting flowers on a regular basis, but figured it wouldn’t be very cost effective, which is why most of my plants are flowering ones.

Why spend money on flowers that won’t last long when I can grow them year round? Or better yet, grow my own bouquets?

Even looking at all the flowers I’ve grown and maintained while working on my computer makes me happy. So, if you are feeling blue, go get some plants! You will be amazed at how a simple thing like that can make you happy.

Calming Anxiety

As an anxious prone person, I also love it that hanging out in the garden has a way of calming my anxiety. Many studies show that plants and flowers can calm a person down. I

f you tend to have a heart that likes to race, invest in some indoor plants or add some outdoor ones to care for. The effects for anxious people are similar to those that get depressed. Plants and gardening just have a way of making people happy!

Lower Stress

Taking care of plants can lower stress levels. This, in a way, coincides with plants calming anxious people down. Think of gardening as a way to work out. Once you are done pulling weeds and transplanting flowers to a new spot, you will feel less depressed, anxious, stressful, etc.

Plus, taking care of something living can also take your mind off whatever is stressing you out. You will feel much better after watering your plants and checking up on them.

Cleaner Air

Another amazing benefit of gardening is that plants clean out the air. Plants take in carbon monoxide and breathe out oxygen, super important to us.

Living in an urban area, I love that I am helping to create cleaner air by growing a bunch of plants on my balcony. At least the air is cleaner there than other areas.

This also applies to indoor spaces. There are many types of plants that are great to grow indoors to keep the air space cleaner and healthier. With so many gadgets available indoors, growing plants all over the house will greatly benefit the air space indoors.

Heal Fast

People that are sick or injured heal quicker when plants are present. This would explain why people in hospitals are given bouquets of flowers. Not only will plants boost their happiness, but plants will also speed up their healing process. If you are at home and not feeling well, hang out or take a walk in your garden. I’m sure you’ll feel better after the experience.

Caring for Others

Taking care of plants means you care for the well being of others, which is another one of the many benefits of gardening. Gardeners tend to not only care for plants, but also care for other people as well.

Another wonderful benefit of gardening is that plants help you be more compassionate. Amazing, isn’t it? Its not too hard to believe that us gardeners are naturally compassionate people!

Teaching Tool

Growing a garden is a great way to teach responsibility to children, among other things. I don’t know about any of you, but in the technology age of getting things at the click of a button, I like that growing plants is reteaching me patience.

With all the rushing around I do, gardening forces me to sit back and wait for rewards to happen. “Stop and smell the roses” is a saying I take to heart, since its so true!

One plant that really tests my patience is the amaryllis I got from my best friend’s in-laws. I received the bulb a little over a year ago and got to first enjoy the huge flowers from this plant around this time last year. What I didn’t realize I had to wait an entire year before I got to enjoy those blooms again.

I almost threw out the bulb between then and now since I wasn’t sure if it would bloom again. I’m glad I didn’t because a huge stalk with a bud at the top is growing from the plant again. Hopefully, in a few weeks, I’ll be able to enjoy those pink and white amaryllis flowers again!

Medicine

With all the pharmaceutical drugs out there, people forget that plants have many medicinal benefits. Greeks, Romans, and other ancient societies depended on plants as their medicine resource.

Plants cannot only heal the mind. They can also heal the body of many ailments. Take a look around in your garden to see if anything you grow can be used as medicine. You may be surprised by your findings!

Benefits of Gardening

This is not in any way an exhaustive list of the benefits of gardening. Since my flowers have helped me overcome depression and anxiety, I plan to have them around for as long as I can. I hope you learned something new by reading about 8 amazing benefits of gardening.

What are other amazing benefits to gardening you can think of? Let me know in the comments section below.

Happy gardening!