The benefits of gardening

GARDENS, no matter how big or how small, can bring communities together. | MARKUS SPISKE Unsplash

Digging the benefits of gardening

PAUL EKSTEEN

THERE’S really nothing like the joy of gardening. Connecting to nature, the pride of growing your own plants, flowers, food and, of course, the amazing health benefits.

It’s also well-documented that gardens, no matter how big or small, have the potential to bring people and communities together.

Plants instead of pills

Many studies have shown gardening can also make a significant contribution to our health and well-being, not just as a way to get some physical exercise but also to improve our mental health. GPs in London have already started to prescribe gardening time to assist patients with mental health troubles.

According to Professor Nox Makunga, a plant scientist at the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University, has an incredible flora that has been used by people for health purposes for centuries.

“Apart from their aesthetic beauty, gardens have many healing properties linked to psychospiritual healing,” says Makunga.

“They may provide us with food and medicine and an interconnectedness to nature and the world around us and also to our very self. Benefits are thus psychological, social, emotional and physical. A medicinal garden in some households is a first line of primary health care.”

Social seeds

Gardening does not only lift your mood it is also a great way of connecting with people and reducing loneliness, which is why this Garden Day South Africans are once again encouraged to sow the spirit of ubuntu.

So if you’ve been admiring your neighbour’s garden from afar, intrigued by their rambling roses or eager to learn more about their striking succulents.

Gardener Alan Hulme likes to “mix it up” at his community garden Urban Organic in Blackpool, UK. Residents work alongside schoolchildren, as well as visually impaired and socially isolated people.

“The garden is the focus,” he says, “but the secret ingredients are tea, cake and bringing people together.”

Here are some ideas of what you can do with garden products and how to be creative in your garden:

● Get connected to Candide, a free, new geo-localised community gardening app set to inspire, educate and cultivate green fingers in South Africa.

● Discover and explore curated ideas, articles and tips from master gardeners and knowledgeable home gardeners in the app that can help you with ideas.

● Invite your family and friends for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Use fresh ingredients from your garden to make the food.

● Use fresh flowers and greenery from your garden to make flower crowns for everyone.

● Host a plant swop by asking guests to bring rare and interesting plants to swap with each other.