Spring has finally Sprung! Gardening is one of the best natural remedies around. Just digging in the earth makes stress melt away. It also has other health benefits. “Plants reduce your blood pressure, increase concentration and productivity and help recovery from illness,” says Andy Kaufman, Ph.D. an Assist. Prof../Landscape Specialist in the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences at the College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu, Hawaii.
According to a 2004 study done at Utsunomiya University in Japan working with plants also help calm us down.
Subjects were assigned to one of three groups: filling pots with soil, transplanting non-flowering pansy plants or transplanting flowering plants.
The results suggested that activities with plants significantly lowered fatigue and promoted physiological relaxation.
Another interesting fact? Working with flowering plants appeared to have a stronger positive effect than working with non-flowering plants.
If you want to benefit from having plants in your life, you can start by just looking at plants outside your window. You can move on to having a few house plants and then actually gardening outside if you like.
If you live in an apartment or don’t have much room to garden, you can still enjoy the benefits of plants. The Earth Box, (www.earthbox.com) a self-watering patio container garden is an easy way to grow flowers or vegetables. It’s extremely user friendly even if you have a brown thumb! It’s great if you don’t have the time or space for full-scale gardening or in the winter time. Or visit the American Horticulture Society’s website at www.ahs.org to find a community garden in your area.
What is your favorite flower?
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5 comments:
I'm lucky enough to have a large backyard where fruit trees grow. It's a delightful view and a wonderful place for the dogs to play. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a gardener, but my husband is!
I have several favorite flowers. Lilacs and roses for their scent. Daffodils and daisies for their cheeriness. Marigolds for their ability to help control aphis. I could go on and on. I always put flowers in my mystery novels. Wisteria are highlighted in my latest one—Murder Down Under.
I love to garden. I have only one spot where I can dig in the dirt but it's my favorite place in my yard. Forsythia is blooming now along with daffodils. Thanks for stopping by!
I love flowers that have fragrance so I have jasmine, gardenias and carnations growing in my yard.
I feel good every time I even look at my backyard. Growing up in an apartment with a small patch of concrete that went for a yard, I am even more appreciative of it. It feels like my own personal park.
I love tulips! But I grow herbs and vegetables every year and look forward to good summer eating.
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