People who started gardening were a huge trend in 2020, so much so that many homeowners said this is something they truly enjoyed and will likely continue even now that lockdowns are mostly over. Of course, since the lockdowns caused many to feel bored being stuck at home, it became a form of distraction from all the dreadful events happening worldwide. Besides this, gardening also has other benefits, particularly for the environment, as composting, recycling plastic bottles into pots, cultivating your herbs, etc., do wonders for any gardener.
Gardening also has several health benefits you should know about. So, if you want to make use of your backyard and make your house look more beautiful while getting healthier, you should start gardening too.
Gardening Benefits You Should Know Of
Whatever you do for a living — whether you own a business, make art, or work as a dedicated senior living advisor, spending time to do some gardening will help improve your health and well-being. You don’t need to have a green thumb or be an expert with plants; all you need is the drive to take care of plants and yourself. If you need more reasons to start this new hobby today, here are some:
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Gardening exposes you to some essential vitamins.
When you get some sun while working in your garden, it allows you to get some much-needed vitamin D, which you wouldn’t usually get from being indoors all the time. Vitamin D strengthens your bones as it helps in better calcium absorption. Additionally, getting enough Vitamin D can help lower your risk of falling sick to heart diseases and cancer. But of course, you should put on some sunscreen as too much sun could also damage your skin.
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Gardening allows you to become more active.
Physical activity helps reduce the risk of diseases such as high blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes, colon cancer, dementia, obesity, and more. Consider planting a tree or gardening for a few hours every day as a form of self-care since it can evidently help you become healthier in more ways than one.
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Gardening boosts your mood.
Numerous studies prove that regularly being outdoors can have amazing effects on your mental health. Of course, since gardening is mostly an outdoor activity, it can help lift your spirits more effectively than any other hobby. There are some studies conducted where participants had to pick between other activities and gardening to cool off after a tiring task. The ones who chose to do some gardening showed better results with reduced stress levels in the group.
Tips For Newbies At Gardening
Now that you’ve learned more about gardening’s health benefits, it’s time to harness them. Here are some suggestions you should try when you’re starting your garden for the first time:
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Plan your garden.
The first step to growing a garden is planning what kind you want to grow and cultivate. You can choose between an indoor area garden, a backyard garden, and you could also do both. Additionally, ask yourself if your plants will be solely for decoration or food, or will your garden be for both purposes?
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Have suitable land for gardening.
Plants require different amounts and kinds of sunlight to thrive and flourish. So, whether you’re cultivating an indoor or outdoor garden, make sure your plants get enough sun so that they will grow faster.
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Recycle plastic bottles as pots.
Getting food delivered to your house is easy and convenient, but it could cause environmental problems as most restaurants bring their food and drinks in plastic containers. But you can still solve this problem by recycling them as pots instead of tossing them in the bin. It could be ideal for letting seedlings germinate before transferring them to bigger pots, or you can paint on them, so they would still look aesthetic as decorative pots.
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Plan the plants you will grow depending on the weather.
It may take some trial and error phase for you to figure out which plants to grow based on the season. Naturally, not all plants will grow during the hot and cold seasons of the year, so make sure you plan before you start planting them. Also, you can start your new hobby by planting some plants that require little maintenance and care.
When some of your plants die, it can be a little discouraging, but don’t let this discourage you from growing your garden. Everyone has to start from somewhere, so give yourself a chance to grow like the plants you’re growing.
