If you are looking for an excuse to spend time outside, consider a small garden. You can set up a garden almost anywhere, from your front lawn and backyard to your porch or rooftop deck. Gardening allows you to plant beautiful flowers, tasty produce, or herbs. The best part is that gardening is full of physical and mental health benefits. Here are 5 of the many health benefits of having a small garden in your backyard.
1. Encourages Exercise
One of the top benefits of gardening is improving your physical health. Regular gardening involves tasks like digging, planting, watering, and weeding. It also includes carrying items such as bags of soil. You may not realize it at the time, but you are improving your strength, endurance, and flexibility just by tending to your garden.
2. Promotes Healthier Eating
Growing produce such as strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, and radishes is a great way to eat healthy. Homegrown produce is fresh and free of chemicals like pesticides. Additionally, you can grow herbs like chives, dill, and basil to use as ingredients in your cooking. Enjoying your produce and herbs is a reward for all your hard work.
3. Reduces Stress
Whether you are spending time in your yard or on your rooftop deck, gardening is ideal for reducing stress. It can even reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. Gardening provides an escape from your daily routine and encourages you to live in the present. Instead of thinking about chores, work, or specific events, you are focused on your garden. The only task on your mind is which part of your garden to tend to next.
4. Improves Sleep
Spending time in your garden, surrounded by natural light and fresh air, can help regulate your internal clock. When you add in the physical activity, you are ready to fall asleep at night. Plus, reducing your stress, anxiety, and depression helps to clear your mind before bedtime. You can even grow plants that promote relaxation to help improve your sleep, like jasmine and lavender.
5. Serves as a Connection to Nature
Nowadays, we are surrounded by electronics, notifications, and hustles, creating both a life and a mind that are always moving. Gardening allows you to put a stop to all of that by spending time in nature. While you are enjoying the fresh air and sunlight, you can also listen to the birds, crickets, and even your garden fountain. You can feel the soil as you work or watch nearby wildlife during a break. Connecting to nature requires you to slow down and enjoy the world around you.
It is easy to get into gardening, and you can always start with a few flower pots or a smaller garden bed. If you do not have a backyard, a garden on your porch or rooftop deck will work. In addition to growing flowers and food, you have the chance to stay active and spend time away from your daily stressors. When you take the time to prepare and care for your garden, you are also taking the time to care for your physical and mental health.