Gardening Is a Natural Cure for SAD

Gardening is good for you because it makes you feel good. Weed a garden bed and your stress will go away. Plant a container garden and you will feel calmer and happier.

It's been a long winter and we have been indoors a lot. We keep ourselves busy when we are home by planning our spring and summer gardens but it is not the same as being outdoors with our hands in the dirt. 

My husband was feeling SAD last week and I suspected it was due to another snowstorm and too much time spent indoors.  So to put a stop to my husband feeling sad  I grabbed pots and soil from the shed and we planted seeds for an indoor garden. In no time we were talking and laughing and our entire mood had improved. This is why I say that Gardening is a natural cure for SAD.

For me, a day in the garden is a natural way to eliminate any anxiety or feelings of sadness.

Working with your hands in the dirt is the best natural antidepressant. There have been studies done on how dirt affects people. Did you ever notice that gardeners overall are happy and calm? The findings in the study showed that the bacteria Mycobacterium vaccae is found in dirt and it will mirror an antidepressant.  I guess dirt is a natural form of Prozac.

If you are having an off day, feeling sad or just in a mood then maybe you should plan to spend the day in the garden. If you do not have a backyard then you can shop for a container and potting soil so that you can plant and grow a flower, herb, or vegetable garden.

Gardening to Relieve Stress: Great Therapy

In my desire to rid my body of stress, I put on my gardening gloves and went outdoors to do some hand-pulling of weeds in the flower garden.  Being outdoors and being productive is a good way to cleanse your body of any negative energy and anxiousness.

While I was gardening I could watch the birds at the ground feeder and in the distance I saw a groundhog posing on the river rock.   The garden was alive with wildlife and biting bugs which I found took away from the good feelings I was getting from the garden.

My garden after a day of removing weeds

Whenever I perspire it seems the gnats go for my eyes and they are aggravating.  I sprayed myself with deep woods off before going outdoors but I do not spray my face.  So I went and got the protective glasses that I wear when I am painting or doing other home improvement projects.  The glasses worked but then my ankle felt itchy and sure enough there was a tick crawling on me.

The bugs in the garden were going against my stress-free therapy so I went to the shed to look for the natural pest control that I got at amazon.com and found that the mosquito and other biting insects barrier was empty so I went inside and put some diatomaceous earth food grade in a powder sugar shaker and then went back to the garden to dust the gardens with the natural pest control.

Diatomaceous earth food grade safely rids garden of biting bugs

 

Normally it takes 20 minutes for the DE food grade to kill any ticks, fleas, chiggers, mites, and ants that may be lurking in the garden.   By tomorrow morning the garden pest will be gone and I can resume my gardening therapy to get rid of stress.

I really love gardening especially when I need to overcome stress or feeling of anxiousness but hate when the bugs bite me and make me feel itchy.

Design a Garden for Your Senses

Set the mood of your yard by designing a section that stimulates your senses and achieves inner peace from your sensory garden.  

Stimulate your sense of touch, sight, scent, hearing, and taste by designing a sensory garden that features flowers, ornamental grasses, bamboo, and tasteful as well as aromatic herbs.  

Add a soothing water feature and a cozy outdoor living space where you can sit and relax.  When you design a garden that stimulates your senses you will find harmony.  

Water feature garden

Before you begin your garden you will need to decide on the type of plants that you would like to grow.  You will want to choose a color scheme that is compatible and soothing, as well as flowers, shrubs, and herbs that are fragrant and will attract butterflies and hummingbirds. 

Choose ornamental grasses; fountain, reed, or zebra grasses will give the garden movement as well as lovely plumes and winter interest.  Fragrant flowering shrubs and vines:  ruby spice summersweet, sweet autumn clematis, and Four O’clocks will perfume the air in late summer and early fall.

  

Add a water feature to your sensory garden. The water feature need not be large however one that has water cascading down rocks into a shallow pool will provide you with a sense of sight and hearing.  The trickling water is a natural way to relax your mind and body.  

 

Designing Garden for Senses

Decide on the location of your sensory garden.  Allot space for flower, herb, and grass gardens, as well as a feature water garden, and sitting area.  Your garden should appeal to the eye by inviting you to different focal areas.  

A focal area could be your water feature, a pergola over a comfortable seating area, a colorful coneflower garden or a butterfly garden.  When you have decided upon the location of your garden you would then measure it.  

Measure the space of your garden and then draw out the locations of each garden.  Use colored pencils to indicate the color scheme of the plants.  Section off your sensory gardens; assign specific areas for plants.  You may want to plant bamboo or grasses with height in the back section of your garden as these plants will provide you with a living privacy hedge.  You may want to have a section for wildflowers, a water garden, herbs, or a butterfly garden.  

Garden Path

Pave stone path to the herb garden

Decide if you would want a natural stone garden path to connect all of the gardens to the outdoor living space.  Do a rough drawing to give you an idea of how you want your garden to look.

Excavate the garden area by clearing the area.  The best way to achieve this task is with a tiller, and a wheelbarrow to remove the sod.  Loosen the earth to the depth needed to install the pond and your container plants, shrubs, or trees.  For planting amend the soil with compost or manure, the plants that you grow will stimulate your sense of sight taste, and smell.

Install a water feature.  Set the fountain or pond close to the area where you will put your patio furniture. Add your seating or resting area to your garden.  Set outdoor furniture in the center of the garden also a bench close to the garden path.  This resting area will allow you to stimulate all of your senses.  Lie in a lounger or sit on the bench and read a book. Take a moment to close your eyes, listen to the sounds of the garden, and breathe in the aroma of the herbs and fragrant flowers.  Your daily stress will melt away and your body will be at peace.

Gardening Tips:

Accessorize your garden with wind chimes.  Hang the chimes in various locations in your garden.  When the wind blows the chimes will produce music. The wind music will stimulate your sense of hearing.

Add light to your garden by outlining the path with solar lights or accent feature areas with hanging solar lights.  The lights generate power from the sun and all soft lighting to your garden at night.

Here is a video that will give you an idea of how to design a garden for your senses.