Gardening is great for mental health! As an advocate for mental health, I always like to find the connections between mental health and certain activities. Gardening, whether it be as simple as a houseplant or as intense as an 800 square foot garden, can reduce stress, anxiety and depression. If you have never grown anything in your life, now is the perfect time to start! Since we are all going to be home for a while, you will have plenty of time to water, weed, and care for your new garden!
One simple way to begin gardening is to create a wildflower patch. Wildflowers are gorgeous and colorful, plus they can be cut and made into indoor arrangements. First, you need an area that gets a lot of sunlight. Till up this area to break up the soil and allow the plants to grow easier. After this is done, sprinkle a mixture of wildflower seeds around the area. Wildflower seeds can be purchased in a mixed pack, or you can buy the specific packs of flowers that you like. Water the patch daily, and soon, you will see the sprouts begin to appear! Maintaining this garden is pretty easy, and many of the flowers will grow back year after year.
If you don’t have a large yard, or any yard, an herb garden is a good choice. Herb gardens can be grown in raised beds, small containers or a yard, of course. If you decide to grow your herb garden on a porch or inside, make sure that there is plenty of sunlight, via a window or a grow light. Some examples of herbs that are good for beginners are Basil, Rosemary, Mint and Sage. These herbs can be used fresh or dry for cooking, tea and much more! Herbs can also be dried to use later. Growing herbs is fun because you get to actually use the products that you grow.
Lastly, another simple gardening idea is to grow tomatoes in five-gallon buckets. I know, if you have never done it, it may sound strange, but it works very well! Though I personally don’t like tomatoes, I have grown up knowing that homegrown tomatoes are way better than store-bought. For this technique, get a few buckets; one plant will go in one bucket. Next, fill the buckets with soil, I like to use Miracle-Gro brand. Then plant! You can either use seeds or already started plants from a local gardening shop. Make sure the buckets get plenty of sun and be sure to water your plants daily. When the plants begin to get large, you can add a cage around them to help them stay stable. Tomato cages can be bought for a pretty cheap price, or DIY’d with some chicken wire or any other type of wire you may have. Then, voila! You have a garden.
Growing is a great hobby to have, whether you do it for fun or to get a product out of it. Anywhere there is sunlight, a garden can grow!