By Susanne von Rosenberg, UC Master Gardener of Napa County
Happy Spring! Spring officially arrived on Thursday, March 19, at 8:49 p.m. If you're feeling like most people right now, though, it feels less like a happy spring than a really uncertain time.
Our gardens can help us cope with the challenging times that life throws at us whether it's a new global virus or personal issues. If you are one of the lucky people who have a garden, even if it's just a few pots on a balcony, you have a ready-made way to help you feel calmer and even improve your immune system and mood. Many of us will have more time at home than we usually do in the next few weeks; let your garden be part of your refuge.
Research shows that just being in nature, or even viewing scenes of nature, reduces anger, fear and stress and increases pleasant feelings. Exposure to nature not only makes you feel better emotionally, it contributes to your physical wellbeing, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and the production of stress hormones.
There is evidence that being able to see nature from a window or having a plant in their room can also reduce pain for hospital patients. Being in, or seeing, nature can even help you be more compassionate. Functional MRI studies show that when participants viewed nature scenes, the parts of the brain associated with empathy and love lit up, but when they viewed urban scenes, the parts of the brain associated with fear and anxiety were activated. So you can benefit greatly from your garden just by looking at it or being in it.
You may want to bring some of the joy of the garden inside by making a bouquet. Get creative. You don't need a lot of flowers; interesting branches and grasses can make a beautiful bouquet.
Gardening is also good for your immune system. The microorganism Mycobacterium vaccae is ubiquitous in soil. A fat found in this microorganism strongly stimulates the human immune system. The same bacterium boosts serotonin levels in the brains of mice, and it's very likely doing the same for you.
M. vaccae thrives in typical backyard gardens or anywhere soil is enriched with organic matter. Gardeners are exposed to it through inhalation and ingestion of small particles any time we dig outside or eat produce plucked from our gardens.
A scientific hypothesis called the Hygiene Hypothesis theorizes that one reason humans today suffer from higher rates of stress and allergies is because we are no longer exposed to the same soil bacteria that our ancestors were. Some scientists refer to those bacteria as “old friends.” As part of our modern lifestyle we've lost (or reduced) contact with our old friends. Luckily, we gardeners are regularly reacquainting ourselves with them.
You can reap even more health benefits in the garden. One of the best ways to reduce anxiety, as you probably know, is to tune into the present, rather than worrying about the future or having regrets about the past. Taking just a few minutes in the garden to really see and experience what is going on can help you become much more present.
Notice the flowers, the insects, the birds, the movement of the plants. All of them will connect you to the here and now and help your worries fade away. You can go further by meditating or doing simple yoga or stretches in your garden, weather permitting. You can find great resources online for all of these activities. Or if you like to journal, consider sitting in the garden while doing so. It will make this quiet time even more restorative. Or you can simply brew yourself a lovely cup of tea and take it outside to enjoy.
On the other hand, maybe you like to work off your anxiety through exercise. I'm sure that somewhere in your garden there are weeds to be pulled, plants to be pruned, or mulch to be applied. Each of these tasks is an opportunity to work off some stress. For me getting the big weeds out is particularly satisfying.
It's also helpful in these stressful times to keep making plans. Work on the design of your flower beds, or your vegetable planting schedule, or even consider a complete redo of your garden. Carefully planning your vegetable garden will maximize your yield, and a beautiful flower bed can deliver joy to many.
For some folks, getting things done is a great way to reduce anxiety. If you're a regular gardener, you probably have a list of projects that you would like to get done…someday. How about tackling that storage shed you've been wanting to clean out for a while? Or getting all those tools cleaned and sharpened?
Whatever you do, I wish you the joy, satisfaction, and calm that gardening can bring.
The UC Master Gardeners of Napa County are volunteers who provide UC research-based information on home gardening and answer your questions. To find out more about upcoming programs or to ask a garden question, visit the Master Gardener website (http://napamg.ucanr.edu) or call (707) 253-4221 between 9 a.m. and noon on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays.
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