“Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden.” –Robert Brault

Starting a garden has been a goal of mine ever since we moved into our new house nearly a year and a half ago. Just like every one of us, I had dozens of great excuses for why it was easy to put it off and not get started. Still, slowly but surely Thom and I began taking steps towards creating the perfect space on our small urban lot. This last weekend I finally put the plants in the soil. Now I have a vegetable garden and regardless of whether anything actually bears fruit, I can begin reaping the many benefits offered by such a time-honored and humble activity.

But let’s face it—lots of people think growing your own food is a less-than-desirable activity. There was even a recent study done in New Zealand that found in spite of the numerous benefits of gardening it still holds a poor image in many communities. Unfortunately, some people consider it only a survival strategy for the elderly, the poor, or tree-huggers. Others consider it a sign of rural backwardness rather than youthfulness, initiative, health, vigor and self-reliance. The authors of the New Zealand study concluded by suggesting that an “image-makeover” is required before urban agriculture will become more widespread. What do you think?

And what would a makeover look like? A good place to start would be to begin promoting all the benefits that just about any type of garden provides. So, although I am a relative newbie at a garden, the evidence is plentiful. Here is my Seven Surefire Reasons Why Everyone Should Start A Garden:

#1 Exercise. This is a no-brainer. According to Bundle.com the average monthly gym membership is $41/month but people only attend 102 days/year (or less than 1/3) out of all the days they’ve paid for. Instead, growing a garden and/or doing your own lawn care can offer better exercise. In fact, a study by Dr. Lori Turner at Arkansas University showed that women over 50 who garden at least once a week, have a higher bone density reading than woman who take part in almost any other form of exercise. Plus, in a study of 3,300 women, it was found that ‘yard-work’ and gardening was more beneficial than other weight-bearing exercise such as jogging, swimming, walking and aerobics.

#2 Better Nutrition and Better Taste. This benefit doesn’t take a study to prove it true. We all know the minute we bite into a homegrown tomato that the taste is superior—and can intuit that the nutrition is vastly increased as well. Remember, all fruits and vegetables grown and picked for mass consumption lose much of their nutrition on the way to the market.

#3. Stress Reduction. Gardening is therapeutic. According to Eva Shaw, PhD, author of Shovel It: Nature’s Health Plan, gardening reduces stress, lowers blood pressure and helps fight depression. A study done by Kaiser Permanente showed the brainwave activity of a gardener mirrored that of someone praying or meditating. A related study done in the Netherlands compared gardening to reading. It reported that, “Gardening and reading each led to decreases in cortisol during the recovery period, but decreases were significantly stronger in the gardening group. Positive mood was fully restored after gardening, but further deteriorated during reading. These findings provide the first experimental evidence that gardening can promote relief from acute stress.

#4 Added Health Benefits. A study at Texas A & M University and hosted by the Horticultural Society of the America revealed that gardeners reported more physical activity, claimed more energy, and rated their overall health higher than non-gardeners. In fact, these studies show that merely looking at a garden or plants can generate changes in such things as blood pressure, heart activity, muscle tension and brain and electrical activity. Reporter Carl Hoffman states, “Gardening – as every devotee knows – provides an individual with almost irresistible stimuli, regardless of his or her physical, cognitive or emotional limitations. Even for the sick or disabled, a garden can provide the counterpoint of order and self-empowerment against the feelings of helplessness and loss of control that often accompany serious illness.” Author Eva Shaw, PhD says, “Hospitalized patients’ wounds heal faster and they require fewer pain killers and antidepressants when they are merely looking at a painting of a garden. Imagine the effect a real garden can have”? Finally, another health benefit is found in the area of addiction recovery. According to www.garden-field.com “For those who are dependent on harmful substances, have been through an accident or a traumatic experience, have an illness, or are in a correctional institute – horticulture therapy is said to be one of the most effective methods for recovery.”

#5 Keeps Your Brain Healthy. David B. Carr, MD, a geriatrician at Washington University in St. Louis, says, “It has been my experience that those patients (with Alzheimer’s or dementia), doing activities (gardening being one example) do better in the long haul and have a slower rate of decline than those who don’t do anything,” says Carr. “Gardening is one of the non-prescription interventions that has the ability to slow the rate of cognitive decline.”

#6 Gardening As An Art Form. Gardening is an art that requires skill and an aesthetic sense of creativity. Since the first Egyptians, who believed that gardens were associated with the gods, gardening has offered a creative outlet to those who participate. Everyone from the Romans to Japanese Samurai have artistically designed their gardens into monuments of beauty. Not only is a “vision” required, but attention to detail and the aesthetic design are all part of the satisfaction any of us can harvest when we work our garden

#7 It’s Good For The Planet. One of the greatest benefits of your own garden is that it puts you in touch with the world around you. Suddenly you become much more aware of the seasons—when to plant, when not to plant. What grows easily where you live? What won’t? Is there a chance temperatures will drop below freezing? When will the sun rise and set? Has there been any rain? How much to water? All of these questions come up much more regularly when you need to know to keep your garden happy. And the more in tune we are in nature, the more likely we will be to take care of it.

Plus, when you consider that you are going to eat whatever you grow—you might be much less likely to use harsh pesticides or fertilizers. After all, you’re much more aware of the fact that whatever touches your garden is going to end up touching you in a very personal way. And lastly, every thing we grow that is green is helping to reduce our carbon footprint.

I’m sure that there are lots more reasons why we should all be at least thinking about starting a garden. Sure, they take more time than running to the grocery store to buy what you need. But as I mentioned above, if you are going anywhere and spending any time exercising—you can do this one right at home. It also costs money to get started but ideally that will be returned when you no longer need to a) drive somewhere to get your veggies, b) spend money on exercise, c) buy extra vitamin supplements to stay healthy, d) spend it on entertainment to reduce your stress, and e) your health will be so improved you won’t need to spend money there either.

SMART Living is all about creating a happy, artful, and meaningful life 365. Sometimes that requires changes in our lifestyle. Other times it just means returning to our roots—and that’s something we can do in our own backyard.

“Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden.” –Robert Brault

“The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there.” – George Bernard Shaw

“To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.” – Mahandas K. Gandhi

Shared by: Frugally Sustainable.com at: http://frugallysustainable.com/2012/08/frugal-days-sustainable-ways-39/

Shared by: Dude, Sustainable! at: http://www.dudesustainable.com/2013/08/green-living-thursdays-16.html