There is nothing like getting your hands in the soil, helping something to grow, and enjoying the fruits – sometimes literally – of your labour. Gardening is one of the first things we learned to do as early humans. It’s the cultivation of a beautiful space and a chance to connect with nature. To grow something.
As gardeners who spend all day providing garden services, we know what a positive impact gardening can have on your wellbeing. The benefits of gardening are uncountable, and gardening mental health NZ-wide is shaping up to be a country-sweeping trend (rightfully so).
You don’t even have to have a large plot of land to get started. So, if your mental health needs a boost this winter, let’s look at how gardening can do that for you.
H2: Why is gardening so good for us?
Most people feel a connection to nature, and research shows our nervous systems respond positively to green spaces. We calm down in response to the rhythms of the natural world in ways that modern indoor living rarely replicates because we are, in a sense, tuned to them.
Plenty of research links more time spent outside to lower cortisol levels. One benefit of gardening is that it takes being outside even further. It requires you to engage with the soil, do gentle physical activity, and nurture. When you garden, you have a sense of purpose and care for the world around you, and that can do wonders for your wellbeing.
On top of that, being outdoors regulates us physically. Natural light – in particular – regulates our circadian rhythms and supports the production of vitamin D. So, we sleep better and feel more energy, and our moods are improved.
New Zealand’s winters are notorious for stealing the good moods from us, so gardening for mental health in NZ makes a lot of sense, especially once the cold starts creeping in.
How to Use Gardening for Your Mental Wellbeing
The good news is that you don’t need to become a serious gardener to access the benefits. Even modest, regular contact with a garden can do some serious good for your wellbeing now and into the future. Not to mention, there are a host of other benefits of gardening you can enjoy, too.
As gardeners, we have a bit of a perspective on the subject. Here are the ways we recommend making the most of gardening for mental health NZ-wide.
Start small and keep it manageable.
Great hobbies can be ruined when they become a source of stress instead of joy and relief. You might be the type of person who loves to ambitiously dive into new projects, but consider starting small. Going really big can actually make you take on more than you can sustain, because a garden is far from a one-off project.
Start with a few pots on a balcony, a small raised bed, or a small corner of lawn. Learn to grow and nurture, then build it out over time. Consistency and enjoyment are key!
Treat it as a mindfulness practice.
Any task that brings your mind to the present moment is fantastic for grounding you, and one benefit of gardening is its innate grounding properties (figuratively and literally). Your wellbeing can genuinely improve with contact with soil, the sound of birds, and the texture of the plants you care for.
Bring yourself to the present moment, leave the phone inside, and devote your attention to caring for a little patch of green for twenty minutes per day. It shortly morphs from a to-do list item into the best twenty minutes of your day.
Grow something you’ll eat.
There is a particular satisfaction in eating food you’ve grown yourself. You made the garden, you grew the food, you cooked it, and now you get to enjoy it. It’s cyclical and gives you a connection to the process of nourishment that processed food often lacks. Even keeping a pot of herbs on a kitchen windowsill counts toward your wellbeing here.
Accept that it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Finally, perfection is the enemy of wellbeing. And good news! Your garden doesn’t need to be perfect.
Your garden is alive, so it won’t always cooperate. Things will die, or grow wrong, or invite pests. But growing a garden teaches you to tend something a bit unruly slowly and consistently. That’s amazing for your wellbeing, and a big reason why gardening for mental health in NZ is so effective. We have so many pollinators, native birds, and native shrubbery all waiting to call your garden home.
So, even if you get parts of the journey “wrong”, it’s still a learning opportunity that also gives living things a safe space. That can only be a good thing.
At the end of the day, even if getting a garden up and running isn’t your cup of tea, having a plot of green to call your own is fantastic for your wellbeing. That is why the impact of gardening on mental health in NZ is so well recognised and celebrated: the benefits are undeniable, even if they take a bit of elbow grease.
That said, you can always work with a landscaping team to set up your space and then take over maintenance from there. Regardless, take it from us: get out in the green. It will do you wonders.
Get a wellbeing boost with an expertly-maintained garden from Paramount Gardening.
We know the benefits of gardening so well because garden services are our bread and butter. Creating, curating, and maintaining beautiful green spaces is our speciality.
If you would love the kind of garden that lets you experience the benefits of gardening without the frustrating parts of starting from scratch, get in touch with us today.
