Express Yourself Through Gardening

Gardens offer you one of the best opportunities to express yourself. You can often get a good idea of a person's personality just by looking at their garden. It can show you whether they are free spirited with color and plants splashed everywhere like an expressionist painting, or prefer a more organized and regimented approach to life.

Color variations in a Garden Nasturtium in a home garden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Planting your garden gives you the freedom to choose the colors that make you feel good, and the colors and plants that make you feel happy. You have the choice to add flowers that have the fragrances that you love to smell or remind you of some place that you might have once visited.

You can change with the seasons just as your garden does and add color to a gray day. Gardening gives you an excuse to get outside on a gray day and enjoy all the color that you might have missed inside avoiding the weather.

Adding colored pots and sculptures can brighten a winter garden and add more contrast to the colors of spring, summer and fall. You can change the style and look of the garden as you make changes in your life so that one year is never the same as the next or you can choose to keep everything the same if you don't like change just as an old tree stands from one year to the next.

The beauty of a garden can change your moods and make you feel good just being there. It can make you realize that the important things in life are the little things that are all around us all the time.

There is life in the garden and the garden will always welcome anyone who wants to share in the beauty of that life. It's no wonder that so many people love gardening, because there is so much to love about it. Why not get outside and into the garden today, and see what magic you can make?

How Gardening Can Improve Your Health

It's no surprise to most avid gardeners that while we are attending to the health of our plants, we too are improving our health both physically and mentally.

Even the relatively light work of weeding the garden is good exercise and elderly people will find it an excellent opportunity to get outside, breath the fresh air and improve your well-being.

Cottage garden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As we bend down to pull out weeds or pick up plants and pots we are exercising and stretching our muscles and keeping our joints active. This helps to circulate the blood through the body and maintain a healthy heart. It is also good for the mind as gardening can relax the mind and reduce stress.

Working outside in the garden also exposes us to sunlight and that is essential for Vitamin D, which helps the body to absorb calcium, and this is particularly important for women.

Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in the country and also ranks as one of the most popular forms of exercise for many people.

As with any form of exercise, precautions need to be taken. Lifting heavy pots and plants can also do damage to the lower back and knees so we need to be sensible when gardening to ensure we can continue to enjoy this wonderful pastime.

Like the lower back, our knees are susceptible to damage from gardening if we tend to kneel down while working but fortunately there are various gardeners' aids that can be worn or used to help protect our knees. (Check back next week for more on protecting your knees while gardening.)

There are also belts that can be worn to support our back when lifting heavy items in the garden.

If you take a sensible approach to your gardening and don't over extend yourself you can reap the rewards of improved health and happiness while enjoying the fun of creating your own piece of garden paradise!

How to Relieve Stress - With Gardening

Many of us garden because we want to grow our own fruits and vegetables. An attractive landscape or curb appeal may be the goal of others. But gardening, no matter what kind, can also be therapeutic. For many people gardening relaxes the mind, body and spirit. Actually, it is not gardening that's relaxing, but the way that we approach it. If gardening is seen as a chore, it's stressful. If we view it as enjoyable, it can help relieve stress.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Focusing on your gardening task is the key to relieving stress. Digging, chopping, and pounding motions can relieve stress and tension. Strenuous activities also provide an outlet for pent up aggression. But strenuous activities are certainly not the only ways to relieve stress in your garden. Something as simple as a walk around the garden may be just what the doctor ordered. When you take your walk, be sure to absorb all the colors, fragrances and designs in the garden. You can also admire your gardening skills and this is sure to reverse the stress into a state of well being.

Here are some pointers for stress-free gardening:

1. Make a short "to do" list and stick to it. Don't try to do everything in one afternoon, evening, or weekend because this is sure to manifest as stress.  Attack garden chores with the same vigor as weight-lifting, running, or swimming - or any other activity that you enjoy.

2. Stop what you're doing and rest periodically, reviving yourself with some stretching and plenty of fluids, as you relax and survey the results of your efforts. Listening to music while gardening can add a pleasurable environment with the calming effect of your favorite tunes. And teach your children how to garden. Not only will they be learning a lifelong skill but will cherish the time spent with you.

3. Stress is at an all time high in the society we live in today and is the root cause of many diseases and chronic illnesses. Learn how to quite your mind and tune out the noise by having brief moments of internal silence.  If you don't have the yard or space to denote your own gardening skills, volunteer!  There are many places that have horticultural therapy programs that are in need of volunteers.  Schools, day cares, nursing homes and hospitals are great places to start looking to volunteer.

(Photo credit: RaeAllen)

Gardening has many other advantages, too. Growing your own produce supplies you with fresh fruit and vegetables for your summer meals. This is always too a great avenue to share the harvest with friends and family.  What's better than home grown tomatoes from your own garden? Being out in the sun in limited amounts of time gardening also supplies you with vitamin D.  Sunshine brightens your spirits and will give you that sun kissed glow.  (Remember moderation is key when being out in the sun.)

4. Garden safely. Gardening usually requires a lot of bending and lifting. Doing it the wrong way can put a lot of strain on your lower back so a good technique for planting or weeding is to squat. Put one knee on the ground rather than bending at the waist, switching knees every few minutes. Kneel on a small pillow or purchase knee pads which you can buy at a department store, hardware store, or gardening shop.   Also use caution when lifting shrubs or bags of soil or waste. Try to keep your back straight and bend at your knees.  Use your legs instead of your back to lift the weight. Be careful not to twist your body and if something is too heavy to lift then wait on help.

Gardening is an excellent way to relieve stress for all ages but remember to do it safely and take breaks when you need to.  When you see all you have accomplished, you can feel proud of your efforts, and your beautiful garden that results. Gardening can become not only a stress reliever but a fulfilling hobby to share with your friends and family.