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Your neighbor is super into gardening and is outside ALL the time, and you’re starting to get a little FOMO. Gardening seems like it could be a fun, relaxing hobby — but did you know that it also has health benefits?
You don't have to have a green thumb — or a large yard — to reap those benefits, either.
The health benefits of nature and gardening
Mental health benefits are among the more proven ways gardening — and other activities in nature — can contribute to your overall health and well-being.
“If you’re stressed and you go outdoors, in a matter of minutes, there’s a reduction in stress biomarkers; you might not even realize it’s happening,” says Kathleen Wolf, PhD, a research social scientist and affiliate faculty at the University of Washington College of Built Environments. “Even if you don’t like nature, it still has this benefit for you.”
Fellow UW researcher Gregory Bratman’s work has shown that time outside can help reduce rumination, which is when you dwell on negative thoughts and feelings. Activities like gardening can also help alleviate the cognitive fatigue you can get from the many demands of work, errands, scheduling and caregiving.
The positive effects don’t stop there. Gardening can provide low-intensity exercise, such as bending and lifting, plus help maintain dexterity in your hands. And, joining a p-patch or becoming a local garden steward, can help build social connections at a time when loneliness has become a public health crisis.
Aside from health benefits, spending time caring for nature, even a small plant, can help you feel more connected with the world around you.
“When you garden, you’re caring for something, you’re using your hands, you’re exercising your whole body, and you’re breathing deeper,” says Raymond Larson, MS, associate director and curator at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens.
Why nearby nature matters
The health benefits of doing outdoor activities like gardening are not a new finding among the research community.
“Over the past 50 years, thousands of scientific studies from all over the world have shown that there are health benefits when people experience nature, especially nearby nature,” says Wolf.
Nearby nature means outdoor spaces you can access easily, with few barriers. State parks and wilderness areas are important, but not everyone can easily travel to them; nearby nature, however, could be the local park you walk in every week. Or your garden.
Dutch researcher Cecil C. Konijnendijk proposed the 3-30-300 rule: Everyone should be able to see three mature trees from their residence, have at least 30% tree canopy in their neighborhood, and be within 300 meters (0.2 miles) from a public green space.
These guidelines are based on extensive research and are being adopted by urban planners in different countries to try to bring more nature into cities. Regardless of where you live — city, rural area or somewhere in between — there’s no nature closer than your own garden.
How much gardening is the best amount?
You don’t have to spend an entire weekend mowing and weeding to get health benefits from gardening. The sweet spot is around 20 to 30 minutes per session, totaling around 120 minutes per week, according to Wolf.
Even if that’s too much for your busy schedule, connecting with nature for five minutes can still help you de-stress.
How to reap the health benefits of gardening
Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or a beginner, here are five ways to make the most of your garden.
Start small, like a seedling
Gardening is meant to be enjoyable, so don’t overwhelm yourself. Start with a plan — it doesn’t have to be complicated, but even a simple sketch helps make sense of things. Then purchase a few plants here and there to fill in the plan. Try one or two new ones and learn everything you can about how to care for them.
No yard? No problem. Buy a fern for your shaded balcony, a narrow-growing tree for your driveway, an herb container for your kitchen windowsill or a philodendron for your bedroom window. Container and indoor gardening still have health benefits, because you’re still caring for plants.
Some of Wolf and Larson’s favorite beginner-friendly plants include:
- Deer and sword ferns: They’re native to Washington, hardy, and can grow in sun or shade.
- Hellebore: They bloom in the winter and are toxic to most pests, so they won’t get eaten.
- Daffodil bulbs: Unlike other bulbs, they are less likely to be eaten by pests.
- Common camas: If you have some sun and want to grow a native bulb, this is the one for you; they’re also edible if prepared properly.
- Low Oregon grape: They’re easy to grow, doesn’t get too big, and provides food for native pollinators.
- Witch hazel: You need a little more space for it, but it flowers in winter and can even be grown in a container for years.
Practice reciprocity with nature
As a gardener, you’re entering into a relationship with nature, and you have a chance to give back.
“The idea of reciprocity is getting more attention because of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, Braiding Sweetgrass,” says Wolf. “Gardening is an opportunity for people to work toward reciprocity, and to reflect on its meaning.”
Here are a few ways you can practice reciprocity in gardening:
- Avoid invasive plants; instead, try to find native plants or introduced plants that won’t choke out others (you can look up info online about your growing region)
- Choose plants that provide habitat and food sources for wildlife and beneficial insects
- Don’t use chemicals like herbicides or pesticides, if possible
- Use only as much fertilizer and water as you need to, and consider mulch as an alternative
- Consider planting less resource-intensive gardens that can become somewhat self-sustaining
Be like a mycorrhizal network and make connections
If gardening at home isn’t an option for you — maybe you have ultra-curious cats or live in a basement apartment — you still have options. Find your local P-patch and join their waitlist for a garden plot. In the meantime, get to know the community.
There are often opportunities to do landscape maintenance work at local farms, and to help out with stewardship with nonprofits, botanic gardens and tribal organizations. Then you’re not only doing something good for yourself, but also for other people and environments.
Do some reed-search (aka research)
Stop by a nearby plant nursery and ask the staff what plants are best for your situation. Do some of your own research online or join a local gardening group. Local Master Gardeners can be really helpful. If you’re into food and herb gardening, pay attention to what local farmers bring each month to the farmers’ market, and ask them for advice on what to grow.
You can also check out the University of Washington’s Elisabeth C. Miller Library, which is full of horticultural reference materials. Members of the public can visit in person in Seattle, or you can use their online knowledge base or plant answer line for free.
Be-leaf in yourself
If you’re interested in gardening, you don’t need to have a green thumb to get started.
“The thing I like about gardening is that it’s taught me patience, but it’s also forgiving; if you kill something, it’s OK, you try something different next time,” says Larson.
