Last Saturday I was covered in mud, my back was sore, my ears were ringing with trillions of cicadas and, despite my best efforts, the back of my neck was starting to get sunburned.
I was in heaven.
Over the course of a day, I planted summer annuals (full of red, purple, and yellow flowers), repotted fall-flowering chrysanthemums, and pulled out Montauk daisies that had outgrown the space. My neighbor took the daisies and thanked me by gifting me some irises and lamb's ears that had needed thinning from their garden.
For me, gardening is exercise, meditation, and an opportunity to connect with neighbors all rolled into one. And while I'm admittedly biased, research backs up some of my observations that gardening has genuine positive effects on the mind and body.
Get moving
Shoveling mulch, pulling weeds, and carrying a watering can all qualify as moderate-intensity physical activity, and gardeners tend to report higher overall physical activity levels than non-gardeners.
For example, in one recent study in Colorado, people who participated in community gardens logged about six more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per day compared with people who were on a waiting list for plots. That may not seem like much, but it amounts to about 42 more minutes per week, said Jill Litt, a professor of environmental health at the University of Colorado at Boulder, who conducted the study.
“That's about 30 percent of the federal recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week,” Litt says. “People are talking about this as a way to achieve those goals and get more active without having to get on a treadmill.”
There's also evidence that gardeners have better cardiometabolic health, possibly due to increased activity: One study of older adults found that those who gardened as their primary physical activity had lower rates of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, compared with sedentary people.
Some of the more strenuous gardening activities, like digging, raking, and carrying bags of potting soil, can also serve as strength exercises, challenging your arm, leg, and core muscles.
However, not all studies show physical health benefits from gardening, especially if the gardening is low-intensity or only 10 or 15 minutes at a time. People who choose gardening as a hobby may also be healthier and more active than non-gardeners even before they start.
Mental health benefits
Several studies have reported that gardening reduces scores on measures of anxiety and depression. Other studies have shown that gardeners' confidence and self-esteem increases. One small study found that 30 minutes of gardening reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Experts believe there are several ways gardening can improve mental health. Firstly, physical activity itself is a well-established way to boost a person's mood.
Many people also report feeling a sense of meaning and purpose when working in their garden, which can contribute greatly to their sense of well-being.
“By engaging with plants, people gain some understanding of their place in the world,” says Emily Weaver, therapeutic horticulture program manager at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens. “The causal relationships that plants clearly demonstrate help people understand why they are valuable.”
Additionally, gardening, especially in community gardens, can help people make social connections and combat feelings of loneliness. In the Colorado study, participants talked about the relationships they built and said they felt more connected to their community through gardening.
“They're developing social connections. They're more engaged,” Litt said. “They talk about a sense of belonging. They talk about shared learning. All of these processes are really important for mental health.”
If you garden at home, placing flower beds in your front yard rather than in the backyard may similarly spark conversation and bring neighbors together, she adds.
Getting your hands dirty may also have a positive effect on your mood: Some research suggests that bacteria in soil may alter your microbiome, reducing stress and inflammation.
Even if playing in the dirt isn't your thing, just being outside in a natural environment can help relieve stress and mental fatigue, says Carly Wood, a senior lecturer in sport and exercise science at the University of Essex in the UK, who studies the mental health benefits of nature-based interventions, including gardening.
That may be because being in nature activates the mind and senses, distracting us from other things. “Natural environments are seductive,” Wood says. “All of their features inherently attract us and, in a way, distract us from the source of our stress.”
And you don't have to spend the whole day outside to reap the benefits, she says: “Five minutes is all it takes to boost your self-esteem and mood.”
