It’s some eight weeks since the Winter Solstice and already a ‘quare stretch’ in the evenings is apparent. In seven weeks’ time the clocks will spring forward, marking the beginning of summer time.
It’s fair to say that we are over the most dispiriting time of the year, a period when money, warmth and daylight are all in short supply.
Arguably, gardeners feel this seasonal malaise all the more acutely, because it’s a time when our enjoyment of the outdoors is limited by cold weather and early sunsets. I can’t work out whether it’s ironic or simply logical that we are unable to garden at a time when seemingly we most need it.
Those of us who love gardening and the outdoors understand intuitively that being around plants and having a connection with the seasons and the soil is good for us.
The many therapeutic benefits of gardening have been acknowledged since humans first cultivated plants, and this is perhaps best exemplified in ‘horticultural therapy’, a path to physical, mental and emotional healing through the application of a green-fingered philosophy.
Horticultural therapy has been successfully deployed in a variety of contexts and most notably for people with special needs, or the elderly and infirm, as well as those who have mental health problems, or those recovering from physical illness.
Gardening provides aerobic, isotonic and isometric exercise, the combination of which benefits the muscles and bones, as well as the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.
Strength, endurance and flexibility are all improved by gardening, making it one of the best all-round exercises, helping to prevent things like heart disease, obesity, diabetes and osteoporosis.
Gardeners are also more likely to have a healthier diet, eating a wide range of fruit, vegetables, salad and herbs than non-gardeners, even if they don’t cultivate the produce themselves.
Additionally, there is the pleasure derived from physical exercise and the release of endorphins, which help to alleviate stress and negativity. Some studies have even shown that simply being in a garden lowers blood pressure, while a healthy session in the garden also stimulates the appetite and paves the way for a good night’s sleep.
If ever there were an antithesis to the notion of gardening as relaxing pastime that promotes mental and physical wellbeing it’s Chelsea Flower Show.
The annual west London jamboree involves the highly stressful and labour intensive task of creating a series of elaborate showgardens in midst of one of the busiest cities in the world. The final product may indeed bring a sense of serenity to the beholder but the process is bound to send blood pressures soaring.
Yet it is in the Balcony and Container Gardens category at this year’s RHS show (May 20-24) that curating spaces for wellness takes centre stage.
With gardens drawing inspiration from colour therapy and connecting to water to evoke tranquillity, each one in the category celebrates ways in which gardening aids our physical and mental wellbeing.
The MS Amlin Peace of Mind Garden by Hamzah-Adam Desai, for instance, plays on the psychology of colour, with planting and design referencing a colour wheel. Shades of green feature prominently throughout the garden, aim to create a calm and restorative atmosphere.
Purples and blues are deployed to invoke peace and harmony while reds, yellows and oranges are enlisted to energise and uplift.
Just reading about it brings a sense of calm.
