The Health Benefits of Gardening

This morning a friend sent an e-mail to me about the benefits of gardening with links to articles about a soil-borne bacteria (Mycobacterium vaccae), which research suggests lowers levels of anxiety and improves intelligence.

The very act of walking around in nature or digging in the dirt (which should always be called soil) will boost serotonin levels and make us smarter. How great is that?

There is no question that the activities involved in planting, weeding, hauling bags of soil and mulch, pruning, picking flowers and harvesting vegetables—to name a few—will help keep the body limber and strong. But smarter? Well, I wanted to learn more.

Did you know that breathing soil bacteria can make you smarter? Or that is can boost your immune system? There is even scientific evidence to suggest that soil can make you a happier person. 

This article emailed to me is from A.Word.A.Day but the date of the article was not included.

 "When I go into the garden with a spade, and dig a bed, I feel such an

exhilaration and health that I discover that I have been defrauding

myself all this time in letting others do for me what I should have done

with my own hands. -Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher

(1803-1882)"

Jill Donovan of  Chicago, Illinois wrote:

 "I live in a high-rise, and have missed having a yard. For the last

several years, a group of us have started gardening in our local park,

and all of us have noticed an elevation in our moods and health in much

the same way that Emerson describes."

 Jill and her friends understand how good it feels to garden and have found creative ways to get their hands in the soil. One of the reasons I bought my current home was so I could have some land to grow things. There is something so deeply rewarding about digging in the earth.

It was great to have a scientific study confirm from what I already know. Gardening makes me feel great. All that bending and hauling and digging is great exercise. To breathe in fresh air, to watch the sun rise and feel the warmth of it on my back, to listen to all the critters begin their morning chorus—there is no greater pleasure than to start my day in this magical way.

It has been a long winter and spring is still not truly here, but yesterday it was possible to go outside without a jacket and check out each garden bed. It felt so good to begin the yearly process of once again connecting with the earth.

The list of projects is long: prune the roses, remove debris from the beds, turn the compost pile, layer the beds with horse manure and fresh mulch, replace winter-damaged shrubs, attack those early weeds while they are easy to pull. I never think of this as work. I love it.

This time of year can be such a tease. The temperatures are see-sawing from the 60s back down into the 30s. We are all anxious for true spring weather to arrive, but please be patient. If you just can’t stand seeing bare garden beds and containers for another day, go ahead and plant some pansies, violas, snapdragons or petunias, but try to resist the call of those bright colored impatiens and other warm weather plants I see on garden center carts.

It is possible to prepare greenhouse grown plants to brave the still-cold weather. Place the pots or flats of plants outside during the day if there is no danger of frost. Then at night, either bring them inside or cover them with layers of newspaper secured so it won’t blow away. After a few days and nights of this treatment, the plants should be ready to withstand the temperature fluctuations.

Happy Gardening!