MY 11 SURPRISING REASONS TO START A GARDEN TODAY WILL HOPEFULLY MOTIVATE AND CONVINCE YOU TO GET SOME SEEDS AND START GARDENING TODAY!
The positive reasons for gardening would seem obvious to most of us. You know, like homegrown food is healthier, tastier, and safer. That is all true and I think those reasons alone are more than enough to be a gardener. But this list is a bit unconventional and just may surprise you. Enjoy!
1. Gardeners are happier
Yes! They really are. I know, gardening can be hard work. But I am happier when I am puttering around in my yard or veggie garden
But claiming that gardeners are happier is easy to say, but harder to prove.
Good thing Texas A&M University did a survey based on the Life Satisfaction Inventory A (LSIA) and put together a list of the positive life side effects of gardens and gardening. It seems to be based on well-cited research so I guess we all should take notice.
They said people who just have flowers around their home and yard (even their places of business or work) are happier than those who don’t.
Gardeners have a more optimistic outlook on life, future plans and what they can accomplish compared to non-gardeners. That should be reason enough to start a garden today.
2. Improves Your Concentration and Memory
Did you know that gardening can improve your concentration and memory by 20%? Yep, that is another statistic in this study. Being around plants and gardens, either indoors or out, improves work quality and accuracy.
It also showed that children who spent time around plants learn more easily. Kids with Attention Deficit Disorder were able to focus, concentrate and interact more.
Just being outdoors is a big piece of the puzzle. They said that people who spent time gardening outdoors have better mental health and a more positive outlook on life than those who spend the majority of their time indoors.
I know, for me, even looking out a window at the fields is more mentally stimulating than looking at my four walls. Actually going out and working in the yard and garden is a big mental stimulation. There are problems to solve, ideas to act on and a myriad of mental decisions to make even as you pull weeds.
That is something I really need in the morning to get me mentally ready for the day.
3. Start a garden today to have Better Relationships
The study also said that people who spend time around plants tend to have better relationships with others. It shows that gardeners and others working out in nature show measurable increases in compassion for other people.
When we care for plants and flowers we are more likely to care for others. We are more willing to help others.
For me, spending time with my farmer and my kids while working on the gardens together is a treasure. Yes, it may be hard work some days but it is so much more fun when we are all together visiting and chatting while we work.
4. Gardening gets you moving
Do you know how easy it is to just sit in today’s world? We sit in the car, at school, at work, and in front of our media. And really, how many of us just LOVE to exercise? Not me!
I played all kinds of sports in my younger years of school and have spent a fair share of my adult years (winters only) going to a fitness club early in the morning. I always hated getting up and going to workout.
But waking up during gardening season is easy. I love to get out in the yard early in the morning while it is still cool. And when my time is done, there is always tangible evidence of my work that was accomplished.
It was boring. It was hard work. Often there wasn’t even any tangible evidence that it was beneficial.
5. Self-sufficiency
In today’s unstable world it is nice to know that I can grow my own food and supply all that my family needs to survive.
You may not be able to grow all or even most of your own food, but if you just start by growing lettuce for your daily salads you have done a huge thing! And it will taste fantastic and before you know it you will have a couple of tomato plants too!
Starting a garden today will help you build skill and knowledge on how to do something that most Americans took for granted just a few generations ago. Remember that there was a time not that long ago when people did not buy their produce at the store.
6. Start a garden today and Reduc Stress
The Texas A&M study showed that just spending time in a beautiful garden helped people turn their stress and frustrations into something more constructive. Further, actually working with the plants helped people reduce their stress and cope with negative feelings. This brought a more optimistic outlook.
I don’t know about you, but I think most people today would enjoy a more optimistic outlook.
7. Improves Other Areas of Your Life
When you improve or take great care in one area of your life (i.e. the garden) other areas begin to follow suit. Once the garden is alive, growing and looking beautiful, then you want the house and porch to look good too.
Before you know it you have been motivated to clean out the garage and the storage shed and build a new arbor in the back yard!
I know this is true for me. When I am up early in the garden and keeping things nice out there, I want to see the same beauty and order all around my property and in my home.
8. It is infectious
I love to garden and spend a good deal of time in the winter thinking of my summer gardens, and in spring prepping the garden. In season I am up early working in the garden.
Consequently, I have rarely had to ask or ‘make’ my children work in the garden with me. They catch my enjoyment in the process and in the food and flowers
This idea becomes evident when you see neighborhoods that have been a bit run down. When just one neighbor begins to show excitement over improving the yard and exterior of the home, others in the neighborhood begin to have the same vision and follow suit.
This is what is termed the ‘upgrade effect’. As one city improves their gardens and green spaces the next community will follow suit. Sort of a ripple-effect of self improvement.
9. Reduces Healthcare Costs
When you increase your physical activity, eat healthier, reduce your stress, have better relationships and are generally happier your mental and physical health will be better.
When people are healthier, the overall cost of healthcare decreases. The Texas study showed that even residents of neighborhoods with beautiful parks are healthier.
Also, hospital recovery rooms that have plants or window views of beautiful gardens help patients heal faster. Patients actually interacting with plants have shorter recovery times after medical procedures.
If it helps a sick person to view or work with plants in a garden then surely it can help a healthy person also. And maybe it would even prevent you from falling prey to illness.
10. Teaches our children true self-worth
Today’s children are very removed from not only the actual source of their food, but the skill, knowledge and accomplishment that comes with growing it.
I’m sure our grandparents and great grandparents would be surprised at how little children contribute to family survival in our modern world. If you take time to ask a senior about their youth they will tell you with great pride the number of hard things they had to do. Often it involved producing food for their families.
They did real work, with real value and it benefited both themselves and their entire families. Although I’m sure their parents applauded their hard work, they did not need them to. They knew they were valuable because they helped feed their family.
I can’t think of a better way to help our children to realize their worth than to give them real work that matters to the family survival. Our kids each voluntarily take on different crops in the garden and take great pride in the produce they put on our table.
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With all this great research it is easy to see why gardening, with all its manifestations, is called America’s number one pastime. My guess is that since God placed man in the garden there has always been something within us that tells us that gardens somehow make our lives better. Now, go plant some seeds!
Have a blessed week! Julie
My ‘Can’t Live Without’ Garden Tools & Helps List
My top three most used tools in my veggie garden and yard are my Hori Hori, my latex dipped gloves and my Felco pruners. These three items go with me EVERY time I go out to work in the yard and garden…without fail!
Eliot Coleman had a huge influence on me in my early years of gardening. He was the first person I ever heard say we don’t need to till our soil. It was revolutionary to me.
Shep Ogden’s book also had a great impact on me years ago and I used his bamboo tomato trellis system for many, many years before converting to my current system shown in my Tour Our Vegetable Garden post.
My latest influence in gardening has come from Paul Gautschi and his Back to Eden gardening system. Paul is from my state of Washington and grows in a fairly arid climate without supplemental water. His methods have TRANSFORMED my garden and the amount of work necessary to produce HEALTHY abundant food. Check out his documentary here. Your welcome!
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Very inspiring post! Some of my favorite times with my children involve the garden. We have so much fun. Capture the flag is my second favorite! LOL!
Thanks, Jenn. Often I go out to the garden and before 10 minutes goes by several kids have joined me. They all love it and enjoy being together.
Lol! I can tell you are younger than me! One thing we enjoy in the summer is a rousing water fight with big squirt guns and buckets of water!
It’s the truth! I would garden even if I never got to keep anything I harvested.
Lol! Me too!