Grow the Garden, Gain the Gold

Imagine every time you walk by a house, and see a smiling man busy gardening. You may wonder why he enjoys doing such a time and energy consuming work on a blistering day even if the only thing he will probably get after that is getting sweaty and dirty. However, the truth is gardening gives us many benefits from many aspects.

The most important benefit is that gardening can boost one’s health. For instance, simple actions like cutting trees or pulling weeds could be a great form of exercise. Also, while you are in your garden, you are forced to be exposed to sunlight, and that helps you to achieve adequate vitamin D levels. Gardening can definitely give you as many health benefits as an outdoor exercise can.

A second benefit is that gardening helps reduce loneliness. For example, after retirement, many people may find it difficult to get socialization opportunities, but through going outside, taking care of their garden, they can easily meet other neighbors. Just like people love to talk about their hobbies, gardeners also have a good time showing people what they are growing, or sharing advice and stories about their gardens. Gardening can greatly broaden one’s community.

Last but not least, a beautiful garden can make people calm and happy. Suppose you had a tough day. Scolded by your boss, having your car towed before you finally got home. While walking through your garden, you noticed that a plant had just blossomed and unintentionally you smelled the scent of the colorful flowers,which suddenly brightened your mood. All at once, every bad thing having happened to you didn’t matter anymore.

For these very reasons we mentioned here, having a garden not only beautifies the environment, but also gives benefits to both physical and mental health. Therefore, if you don’t have a garden, you should think about having one.

from Jessica, Jim, Will