Greener front gardens can cut down on stress as much as eight weekly mindfulness sessions, according to new research by the Royal Horticutural Society (RHS).
With today marking World Mental Health Day, it's a timely reminder of the value of plants and access to nature in our everyday lives.
During the four year study, 42 residents in a deprived part of Manchester in the UK received a tree, a shrub, a climber, bedding plants, bulbs and sub-shrubs to brighten up their previously bare gardens.
Before receiving the plants, less than a quarter of participants had healthy levels of cortisol, the “fight or flight” hormone associated with stress. In just a year, this had increased to over a half.
The news may not come as much of a surprise to horticulturalists.
You can teach an old dog new tricks!
Confession: I was once so rubbish with plants that I managed to kill a supposedly indestructible cactus! I had the reverse of the Midas touch when it came to gardening. Everything I touched turned to manure!
My notoriety with plants spread like weeds. I was banned from hedge trimming and when anyone gifted me a pot plant, I would secretly cringe, wondering how many days it had left on this earth…
Notice, however, that I'm talking in the past tense. I was rubbish with plants. Spectacularly so. I felt sorry for any that came into my “care”. I mostly killed them with kindness, freaking out so much about neglecting them (like that poor cactus) to the point where I'd over water them.
But over the past couple of years I've definitely improved. And during lockdown I educated myself about plants and have been on a mission to transform my garden gradually, adding wildflowers and bee pollinators.
Slowly, my confidence in my gardening abilities has grown. Blossomed even! I'm still far from green-fingered but I'm no longer the horticultural butcher either!
It's given me so much joy to see beautiful blooms pop out when I least expect them, sometimes ages after I think they'll emerge! Half the time I've forgotten exactly what I've planted, so it's a total surprise when seedlings pop up! That's half the fun.
So I totally understand how surrounding yourself with greenery can be great for your mental health.
Similarly, immortalising blooms in resin to wear around my wrist, ears or neck, or to enjoy in paperweights and coasters, is so therapeutic.
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| Paperweight by Tallulah does the Hula |
I'm definitely a summer bunny at heart – so having a piece of English meadow to enjoy year round is definitely great for the soul. Especially as the nights draw in.
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| Meadow bangle by Tallulah does the Hula |
