Gardening Therapy at Hillside Greenhouse

So it’s April and it’s snowing, as I’m sure you’re all very well aware.  Like many of you, I’m itching to get outside.  My lawn needs rolled and mowed.  I have a few shrubs and trees I’d like to put in the ground.  The calendar tells me it’s time to be working outdoors or at least walking through the woods looking for mushrooms.  BUT THIS WEATHER! 

This got me started thinking about how much people need to be outdoors, and how much better we feel after getting a little “fresh air.”  Many customers in the greenhouse tell us how good they feel when they’re out in their garden or flower beds.  There’s a real connection between humans and nature.  For many of us, this connection is lacking, distorted or gone completely.  Our gardens and flower beds are living things that we care for, nurture and watch grow.  Turns out, for many folks this can have very real positive effects on their mental health.
 
A short search on Google Scholar shows there is no shortage of scientific research on the links between gardening and mental health.  Here are just a few:

Gardening as a mental health intervention
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The mental and physical health outcomes of green exercise
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Therapeutic horticulture for clinical depression
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There are multitudes of reasons to get outside and plant a garden of one kind or another. Research shows it helps relieve anxiety and helps people cope with depression.  Gardening as a group has been a very useful tool in mental health facilities for helping patients communicate and reduce stress.  Who wants lower blood pressure?  Who wants a better night’s sleep?  We all could use these things.  The research shows you don’t have to have a green thumb and sprawling manicured gardens to benefit.  Even caring for a few herbs or flowers in a pot indoors can be helpful. 
 
Conveniently, at Hillside Greenhouse, we have everything you need to help keep you sane!  We can help you pick out some plants and/or seeds and the soil and containers to put them in, if needed.  We have tools to make the job a little easier and quicker.  Basically, we’ve got everything you need, except the warm weather and rain.  Mother nature will come through with that…eventually!  If nothing else, when you stop at the greenhouse you can look at and smell all the pretty flowers; it’s a great pick-me-up on these miserable winter-like days!

Hope to see you soon!
 
Matt Brehm