Awesome Advantages of Gardening as a Hobby
Gardening is a very fulfilling hobby to have. In fact, gardening has some well-documented advantages that people appreciate.
Whether you’re a casual or a skilled gardener, you can reap the rewards of gardening by spending more time working in the dirt and taking care of your plants. If you’re still not convinced about gardening benefits, this article will persuade you otherwise.
I’ve compiled a list of gardening benefits as a hobby that will make your life more enjoyable!
11 Benefits of Gardening as a Hobby
#1. Gardening Improves Your Mood
Working in your garden can help reduce your anxiety levels as well as the feeling of melancholy.
According to this study, gardening (ornamental and vegetable) helps improve moods and overall mental well-being in the same way cycling and other forms of workouts do.
There’s a sense of satisfaction that comes with growing your own food or seeing a plant grow from a seed to a fully bloomed plant. Little wonder more and more people, especially in urban areas are going into some form of gardening.
#2. Gardening is a Great Way to Burn Calories and Build Strength
Gardening is like a workout because you perform light or moderate-intensity tasks like mowing the lawn or raking leaves. If you want a more intense workout, you can also dig and chop down trees.
These activities force you to use your muscles, which might help you gain strength.
According to this post, gardening for at least 45 minutes burns up to 300 calories and contributes to overall health.
Besides, the CDC also recommends gardening as a form of medium-intensity workout routine.
However, if it’s your first time, don’t start with strenuous activities. Start with smaller activities, and move up as you feel more comfortable.
#3. Gardening Can Help You Eat Healthier
In the off-season, the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables can rise dramatically, leading many people to turn to other unhealthy alternatives. One advantage of gardening is that you can grow and harvest your own veggies.
You might even find new vegetables you’ve never come across before, and you’ll be eating food that hasn’t been treated with herbicides and pesticides.
#4. Gardening Can Help You Feel More Confident
This is true, especially if you want to start gardening and are unsure whether you’ll be successful. Gardening has the bonus of being a natural and immediate self-esteem enhancer.
You sow your seeds, weed, fertilize and water your garden, and then sit back and watch it flourish. Your self-esteem will increase as more plants begin to grow and flourish.
It feels fantastic to complete a challenge or routine, and gardens provide you with the opportunity to do so.
#5. Gardening Can Help Lower Blood Pressure
Anyone with high blood pressure is at a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. One of the many advantages of gardening is that it can help lower your blood pressure.
This is because it helps to reduce your stress levels as you tend to your plants.
As already mentioned, gardening is also a form of exercise and helps you eat healthier foods, which are all recommended ways to maintain ideal blood pressure numbers.
#6. Gardening Helps You Fall Asleep Faster and Sleep Better
Spending a few hours gardening has the added benefit of exhausting you. It also aids in the clearing of your mind of all stressful thoughts, allowing you to fall asleep more quickly.
Simple activities like weeding and caring for your potted plants are enough to make you more tired and fulfilled.
As a result, you will find yourself falling asleep faster, sleeping longer, and waking up refreshed and ready to face the day. Gardening every day can significantly improve your sleep quality.
#7. Growing Your Own Food is Cost Effective
Whether you want to cultivate vegetables or fruit, one of the advantages is that it’s cost-effective. Generally, seeds for starting a garden aren’t too pricey, and you can make your manure from kitchen leftovers.
You can still use rain water to keep your plants hydrated. A tiny garden may produce a good bit of veggies, which you will preserve and eat throughout the year. It’s cost-effective since you will not need to budget for fruits or veggies at the grocery store.
#8. Gardening Boosts Creativity
Gardening is all about being creative, and one of the many advantages of gardening is that it allows you to express yourself. You may be as creative as you want, whether it’s planning your garden layout or determining which vegetables grow best together.
If you have children, you can foster their creativity by asking them to assist you in setting up and maintaining the garden. They can even create charming garden signage to track which vegetables you put where. Everyone is acquiring new skills simultaneously, which is a plus.
#9. Gardening Boosts the Clarity of Mind
Gardening requires recalling a lot of info, particularly if you have a large yard. This advantage of gardening will sharpen your intellect while also improving your memory.
Gardening, according to research, forces you to maintain track of multiple tasks simultaneously.
You have to keep track of whatever crops you planted, their requirements if you used organic fertilizer, your watering routine, and when the optimal time is to pick your crops.
As noted in this study, all these activities go a long way in improving your cognitive function and minimizing issues like dementia in the future.
#10. Gardening is a Great Family Pastime and Can Expand Your Circle of Friends
If you discover like-minded individuals, gardening may also be a pleasant group pastime. Practice gardening with your kids and seniors at home, and experience the charm of family gardening time.
There are also several gardening blogs, forums, and Facebook groups to share ideas in and learn better and more creative ways to utilize your garden.
#11. It’s Good for the Environment
You may not realize this, but gardening is one of the best ways to slow down climate change, especially if you practice organic gardening.
How? For starters, you minimize greenhouse gas emissions emitted when transporting produce to stores or your house.
You also minimize the use of plastics, preservatives, and other products used in packaging garden produce.
Organic gardening involves using manure, mulching, and drip irrigation, which minimize the need for chemical fertilizers. And don’t get me started on the effects of chemical fertilizers on soils and water resources.
And lastly, gardening helps provide food and a habitat for local habitat, which may have been destroyed by construction and other human activities.
Conclusion
Now that you know the benefits of gardening, nothing should hold you back. And no, you don’t need acres of land. You can build a 4×4 raised garden bed in your yard and plant tomatoes or a couple of other plants.
Or, you can find old containers in your garage, buy or make potting soil, and start growing some plants indoors or outdoors. There are even soilless mediums like coco coir, rice hulls, or rock wall if your area lacks suitable soils.
