The 20 benefits of gardening that I discuss will blow your mind.
Whether your garden is a balcony of potted plants, a courtyard surrounded by raised planters, or a large backyard filled with trees, they apply to you.
“We live in a fast world that negatively affects our health. There is a need for non-medical intervention.”
These 20 benefits of gardening improve life quality and physical and mental health, which explains the idea of gardening as a social prescription. 1 Social prescribing connects patients to non-clinical services in the community to improve their health and well-being.
Patients can take control and write themselves a ‘green prescription’ even if community gardening groups are unavailable.
The bottom line is to get into the garden.
20 benefits of gardening in no particular order
1. Gardening lifts mood
Depression is a feeling of not having life in you. (To) see things grow and have a sense of life around you, that, I think, is in itself healing.
Prof Tim Kendall in the RHS Feel Good Garden video
2. Gardening calms anxiety and reduces stress
A survey published in 2022 suggested that long-term gardening, more than 8 hours every 14 days, reduces anxiety. 2
Read the real-life story of a doctor who started gardening during COVID. It confirmed the above; she found that it lessened her anxiety.
3. Gardening improves sleep
Our sleep cycle relies on changes from light to dark and vice versa. Not only is light exposure essential to reset the circadian clock, but it also needs to be sunlight. Many of us sit all day under fluorescent lightbulbs.
- Gardening gets you outside and exposed to natural light. This restores the sleep cycle.
- The second reason gardening helps you sleep is that it keeps you active and tires your body out.
4. Gardening provides pesticide-free organic food
You take control by growing fruit and vegetables. Pesticides are a major cause of body inflammation.
5. Gardening long-term saves money
Seeds are inexpensive.
You will save money by growing herbs, fruit, and vegetables from seed.
“One tiny tomato seed I planted in my garden has given me hundreds of cherry tomatoes. That seed cost less than a cent.”
6. Gardening is a source of energy-burning exercise
Gardening involves physical activity. It might surprise you to learn how many calories you burn.
According to the CDC, light gardening or yard work burns 330 calories per hour. For a 70 kg (154 lb) person, this is the same as an hour of dancing or golf and more than cycling or walking.
7. Gardening improves balance and muscle strength
Stretching to prune, bending to weed, lifting compost bags, and pushing a wheelbarrow improve muscle function and strength. Watch this CNN video report on gardening and its benefits as a workout.
8. Gardening makes children healthier
An article review found that school gardening from grades 2 to 6 had many benefits. 3
- Increased fruit and vegetable consumption
- Increased fiber intake
- Increased Vitamin A and C levels
- Decreased body mass index (BMI)
“Don’t leave it up to the schools; start a home veggie garden.”
9. Gardening gets kids off electronics, outdoors, and happier
As mentioned in the above Ted Talk, some kids need to know where their food is coming from.
This could be a fantastic home education project. Get them outdoors, off their phones, and into the soil. Start small, with a pot and some seeds.
It teaches them new skills and responsibility, it is fun and improves mood and well-being.
10. Gardening feeds your microbiome
Plant prebiotic foods in your garden and feed your microbiome.
“There are many reasons to look after your gut bugs. One of the most important is to support your mental health.”
In my other article, I discuss the fascinating link between gut flora and anxiety and depression.
11. Contact with soil microorganisms is good for you
A study on gardening versus non-gardening families showed that the gut microbiota of the gardeners was more diverse. It was high in fiber-digesting bugs and also contained some soil microbes. 4
Contact with soil bacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae, is thought to help regulate immunity and make people feel good. 5
12. Community gardening provides companionship
Community gardening encourages human connections with like-minded people. Participating in community gardening projects significantly increases one’s sense of well-being. This is when compared to home gardeners and non-gardening outdoor pastimes. 6
Join a gardening group today, volunteer in your community, or offer to help your neighbor.
13. Gardening encourages beneficial birdlife
Bird watching and listening to bird songs have proven benefits for mental health.
“I speak from experience; birding brings me joy, and it is medicine for my soul.”
Attract birds to your garden by growing specific plants and trees and having birdfeeders or a water feature.
14. Gardening increases vitamin D
Being outdoors in the sunshine boosts your vitamin D, which has many benefits. I cover this topic in my three posts on vitamin D.
15. A garden is your own green zone
Studies prove that getting into nature reduces stress hormones, reduces anxiety, and improves mental health. Green zones are areas with plants. 7,8
Classic green zones include
- Parks
- Botanical gardens
- Forests
- Nature reserves
“Start gardening, surround yourself with plants, and create your green sanctuary.”
16. Gardening brings color into your life
Besides all the other benefits, a garden is perfect for color therapy.
Mental Health America discusses color psychology in-depth.
Listed below are standard colors in a garden and how they positively affect you.
- Green gives a sense of balance, serenity, and joy.
- Purple is calming, helps with relaxation, and stimulates the imagination.
- Orange elicits feelings of excitement, pleasure, and abundance.
- Yellow lifts the mood with feelings of joy and happiness.
- Pink gives feelings of love and optimism.
- Blue is calming and brings serenity and peace.
- White calms anxiety and gives comfort and hope.
Scientifically, there is not much evidence to support this.
“Color definitely affects my mood; you will have to decide for yourself.”
17. Gardening surrounds you with flowers
People have cultivated flowers for more than 5000 years without any other reward than the pleasant feelings conveyed by them.” 9
Haviland-Jones et al.
We all know that our mood lifts when we see flowers. They are things of beauty.
They have proven to help hospitalized patients with a speedy recovery.
In a 2021 study, yellow flowers offered the best benefits, followed by red and white. 10
18. Gardening provides longevity
Gardening could be the hobby that helps you live to 100, according to the BBC.
The residents of Ogimi Village in Okinawa, Japan, reinforce this and benefit number 19. They live to a ripe old age and are physically and mentally healthy. They believe it is because they work in their gardens and fields, plant, grow, and eat their crops.
19. Gardening helps prevent dementia
Gardening ticks all the boxes for a healthy brain.
- Being physical active
- Experiencing and learning new things
- Preventing loneliness
Join a gardening club, read gardening books, get advice from experts at your local nursery, or enroll in a gardening course.
20. Motivates cancer survivors by giving them agency
What is ‘agency,’ you may ask?
It is a technical term for the feeling of being in charge of your life. 14
The Harvest for Health study partners cancer survivors with certified expert gardener mentors.
They learn to grow healthy food in spring, summer, and fall. 11,13 Vegetable gardening promotes physical activity, provides a healthy diet, and gives patients a sense of purpose and achievement.
“85.7% continued gardening throughout the 12 months following intervention completion; 47.3% expanded their gardens beyond the space of the original intervention. Moreover, 5.5% of cancer survivors enrolled in the certification program to become Extension Master Gardeners.” 12
References
- Howarth, M., Brettle, A., Hardman, M., & Maden, M. (2020). What is the evidence for the impact of gardens and gardening on health and well-being: a scoping review and evidence-based logic model to guide healthcare strategy decision making on the use of gardening approaches as a social prescription. BMJ open, 10(7), e036923. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-036923 SOCIAL SCRIPT
- Gerdes, M. E., Aistis, L. A., Sachs, N. A., Williams, M., Roberts, J. D., & Rosenberg Goldstein, R. E. (2022). Reducing Anxiety with Nature and Gardening (RANG): Evaluating the Impacts of Gardening and Outdoor Activities on Anxiety among U.S. Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(9), 5121. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095121
- Holloway, T. P., Dalton, L., Hughes, R., Jayasinghe, S., Patterson, K. A. E., Murray, S., Soward, R., Byrne, N. M., Hills, A. P., & Ahuja, K. D. K. (2023). School Gardening and Health and Well-Being of School-Aged Children: A Realist Synthesis. Nutrients, 15(5), 1190. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15051190
- Brown, M. D., Shinn, L. M., Reeser, G., Browning, M., Schwingel, A., Khan, N. A., & Holscher, H. D. (2022). Fecal and soil microbiota composition of gardening and non-gardening families. Scientific reports, 12(1), 1595. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05387-5
- Foxx, C. L., Heinze, J. D., González, A., Vargas, F., Baratta, M. V., Elsayed, A. I., Stewart, J. R., Loupy, K. M., Arnold, M. R., Flux, M. C., Sago, S. A., Siebler, P. H., Milton, L. N., Lieb, M. W., Hassell, J. E., Smith, D. G., Lee, K. A. K., Appiah, S. A., Schaefer, E. J., Panitchpakdi, M., … Lowry, C. A. (2021). Effects of Immunization With the Soil-Derived Bacterium Mycobacterium vaccae on Stress Coping Behaviors and Cognitive Performance in a “Two Hit” Stressor Model. Frontiers in physiology, 11, 524833. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.524833
- .Koay, W. I., & Dillon, D. (2020). Community Gardening: Stress, Well-Being, and Resilience Potentials. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(18), 6740. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186740
- Olafsdottir, G., Cloke, P., Schulz, A., van Dyck, Z., Eysteinsson, T., Thorleifsdottir, B., & Vögele, C. (2020). Health Benefits of Walking in Nature: A Randomized Controlled Study Under Conditions of Real-Life Stress. Environment and Behavior, 52(3), 248-274. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916518800798
- Coventry, P. A., Brown, J., Pervin, J., Brabyn, S., Pateman, R., Breedvelt, J., Gilbody, S., Stancliffe, R., McEachan, R., & White, P. (2021). Nature-based outdoor activities for mental and physical health: Systematic review and meta-analysis. SSM – Population Health, 16, 100934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100934
- Mojet, J., Köster, E., Holthuysen, N., Van Veggel, R., De Wijk, R., Schepers, H., & Vermeer, F. (2016). The emotional influence of flowers on social perception and memory: An exploratory study. Food Quality and Preference, 53, 143-150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2016.06.003
- Xie, J., Liu, B., & Elsadek, M. (2021). How Can Flowers and Their Colors Promote Individuals’ Physiological and Psychological States during the COVID-19 Lockdown?. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(19), 10258. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910258
- Blair, C. K., Harding, E. M., Adsul, P., Moran, S., Guest, D., Clough, K., Sussman, A. L., Duff, D., Cook, L. S., Rodman, J., Dayao, Z., Brown-Glaberman, U., King, T. V., Pankratz, V. S., Servin, E., Davis, S., & Demark-Wahnefried, W. (2021). Southwest Harvest for Health: Adapting a mentored vegetable gardening intervention for cancer survivors in the southwest. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 21, 100741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conctc.2021.100741
- Cases, M. G., Blair, C. K., Hendricks, P. S., Smith, K., Snyder, S., & Demark-Wahnefried, W. (2022). Sustainability capacity of a vegetable gardening intervention for cancer survivors. BMC public health, 22(1), 1238. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13644-5
- Bail, J. R., Blair, C. K., Smith, K. P., Oster, R. A., Kaur, H., Locher, J. L., Frugé, A. D., Rocque, G., Pisu, M., Cohen, H. J., & Demark-Wahnefried, W. (2022). Harvest for Health, a Randomized Controlled Trial Testing a Home-Based, Vegetable Gardening Intervention Among Older Cancer Survivors Across Alabama: An Analysis of Accrual and Modifications Made in Intervention Delivery and Assessment During COVID-19. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 122(9), 1629–1643. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2022.05.005
- Van Der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score.
