You may already have green fingers, or you may have never gardened in your life. Whatever your experience, there are many ways gardening can improve your health and wellbeing. Have you ever thought that gardening could change the way you feel? Ask any gardener why they enjoy gardening, and time and time again, they will say it makes them feel good. Being in the garden gave me a sense of calm that I hadn’t felt before. At Plant Mart, we have been promoting gardening for health for decades. It is at the core of our services and information. Whether you are looking to beautify your space or start a new hobby, our wide selection of outdoor plants in Pakistan can bring something different and special for each individual.
Five of the key benefits for your health and well-being
These are five of the key benefits for your health and well-being.
- Gardening can support your physical health
- A gardener hoes a flower bed vigorously
- A person concentrates on some vigorous work in the garden
Gardening offers ways to use and move your body. This could be through physical tasks that burn calories. Or, it could be through gentle activities that develop fine motor skills. Activities like digging, raking, and mowing are calorie burners. They can help you achieve 150 minutes of light aerobic exercise a week, as recommended by the Department for Health. Some gardening activities can help keep your body flexible and build muscle strength. Others, like sowing seeds or completing craft projects, can help maintain dexterity.
Gardening is good for mental well-being
- A person relaxes on the grass, reading a book
- Gardens are special spaces that can have restorative qualities.
A large body of evidence shows that time spent in a green environment can reduce stress and improve well-being. Gardens can support our mental well-being in so many ways. From building confidence to boosting mood or feeling calm, gardens offer choice and creativity.
Gardening can make you feel part of a community
- A group of people laugh as they garden together.
- Looking after your own garden can sometimes be a solo activity. But there are plenty of ways to connect with others. Swapping plants and advice with friends and neighbours can help build bonds. You could even team up on bigger tasks.
Gardens allow you to keep learning
- A person carefully repots young tomato seedlings
- Continued learning could mean trying something new or rediscovering old interests. It provides an opportunity to build confidence and have fun.
Gardens let you enjoy time in nature
- A person walking their dog down a flower-lined lane
- Gardening and time in nature offer enormous potential to improve our health. Evidence from environmental psychology suggests that time in nature can tackle mental fatigue. It can also have a positive impact on our brain chemistry, influencing the release of serotonin and cortisol, which help us feel good.
For many gardeners, a daily stroll around the garden is one of the most enjoyable things to do. It allows you a peaceful moment to see what has grown or changed. You don’t need an enormous garden to benefit from time outdoors. You can still grow plenty of plants on a balcony and attract wildlife for you to sit and observe.
6 Reasons Why You Should Be Growing Plants From Seed
There are so many benefits to planting seeds! Although it can be a lot of fun to go to a nursery and pick out plants to add to your garden, there are many wonderful reasons to grow your plants from seed whenever possible.
Why Grow From Seed?
It’s gratifying to watch your seeds grow into full plants that you grew yourself from the very beginning, but it’s also very practical, too! These are the top reasons you should grow flowers, herbs, and vegetables from seed.
Get a Head Start on the Growing Season
Have you ever felt antsy near the end of winter, like you just need to see some green? Starting seeds indoors can give you a jump on the growing season. It’s a great way to beat the winter blues and give yourself some motivation to start planning your summer garden. This is especially beneficial for those who live in areas with short summers and who want to grow plants that take a long time to reach maturity.
Know Where Your Food Comes From
When you plant your own seeds, you control everything that goes into the process. You choose what planting medium to use when starting seeds indoors. And you can amend or create your soil conditions for direct sowing your seeds outdoors. Seeds don’t carry the risk of introducing weeds or disease into your garden. You’ll have control over the pots that they are grown in, the type of fertilizer you use, and how often they are watered. All of these factors will help you to harden your seedlings off successfully and to establish your plants directly in the environment they’ll be growing in.
Enjoy the Plant’s Entire Life Cycle
Gardening from seed is a great learning experience for adults and kids alike! Everyone could learn a little more about patience and perseverance, don’t you think? You can also learn all about how plants grow. It’s so much fun to take your plants from seed to fruiting and all the way back to seed! You’ll become familiar with the stages your plants go through and learn a lot in the process.
More Varieties Available
It makes sense for local nurseries to carry only the most popular and profitable plants to sell as seedlings. Some plants resent being transplanted, so you won’t be able to find them at all except as seeds. Other plants are not as well-known or aren’t fashionable this year for whatever reason. When you grow plants from seed, it’s much easier to find the exact seeds you’re looking for and experiment with new varieties.
Inexpensive
Compared to seedlings or small plants, seeds are so affordable! For the price of one plant or, if you’re lucky, one flat of seedlings, you could have a whole package of seeds. All you have to do is invest some time and effort to grow them. Even those on a tight budget can usually afford a few packages of their favorite seeds. Those seeds can pay off in a big way when harvest time comes around, too!
Seed Saving for the Future
There are two parts to seed saving. Sometimes you buy more seeds than you can plant in a given year. Depending on the particular variety, many seeds will be viable for 3+ years if stored properly in a cool, dry place. So if you overbuy seeds, you’re not in nearly as much trouble as you would be if you buy too many plants. You might also be interested in intentionally collecting seeds to grow when your plants reach the end of their life cycle. Seeds saved from your healthiest plants will have adapted in subtle ways to your unique growing situation. Any seeds that you’re saving must be from open-pollinated plants, however. Hybrids will not breed true, and you may end up with a plant that is quite different from the one you saved the seed from.
The next time you visit your online plant nursery Pakistan, consider how much more you could grow from seed for a fraction of the cost. Look around for inspiration about what’s possible, but also pay attention to what’s missing. It’s a lot of fun to grow from seedlings, but growing from seeds can take your gardening to the next level!
