Gardening Can Help to Relieve the Stress the World is Feeling

28. Gardening could help you live longer

“Life begins the day you start a garden,” says a Chinese proverb. Research on five global “blue zones”places where residents are known for their longevity, suggests that those lives that begin in the garden will last there for a long, high-quality time. People living in these so-called “blue zones” have certain factors in common, social support networks, daily exercise habits, and a plant-based diet, for starters. But they share another unexpected commonality. In each community, people are gardening well into old age – their 80s, 90s and beyond. Could nurturing your green thumb help you live longer?

When looking at the age group 60+ gardening can help prolong life by up to as much as 30%. The connection between gardening and longevity goes on and on. People who grow more fruits and vegetables themselves, for example, are more likely to have diets containing more plants than animals or processed foods.On an emotional level, tending a garden also contributes to well-being. Dr. Bradley Willcox of the University of Hawaii, who studies Japanese centenarians, recently told the BBC, “In Okinawa, they say that anybody who grows old healthfully needs a reason for living. Gardening gives you something to get up for every day.”

29. Overall gardening

Overall, gardening regularly is proven to be good for you in many different ways. From health-related benefits that can help reduce the risk of a heart attack to helping you relax after a stressful day. What’s better than getting fit and maintaining a healthy lifestyle whilst making your garden a lovely environment you will want to spend time in. No longer does gardening need to be seen as a chore, but rather an investment into your health and well-being.

Growing your own food has many health benefits: Spending time in green spaces helps people. It helps you eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. You decide what kinds of fertilizers and pesticides come in contact with your food. Vegetables that ripen in the garden have more nutrients than some store-bought vegetables that must be picked early. Gardening has a wide range of mood benefits, such as reductions in depression, anxiety, and anger, as well as increases in overall happiness.

30. 10 Celebrities Who Garden

Guess what? Celebrities like to garden too! Here are the favourites of 10 celebrity gardeners and the lessons we can learn from their gardens. From flower gardens and vegetable patches to full-blown farms, these stars are pros in the great outdoors. If not at work, many celebrities would rather stay home and become ‘parents’ to their ‘green kids’—or their home’s plants and flowers. Gardening can actually give so much benefit for a person’s well-being. Entrepreneur and TV personality Martha Stewart will surely agree to this—she mentioned in her blog that this activity is ‘mentally and emotionally rewarding’.

31. Julia Roberts

Beginning her gardening hobby as a way to provide her family with nutritious food, Julia Roberts often talks about her love of gardening. One tip for a healthy garden: use leftovers from the kitchen as compost for your garden. Julia Roberts is a big fan of sustainability and loves organic gardening.

She teaches her children how to garden so that they have an understanding of where their food comes from. Her favourites include: Kale (she makes kale chips for her kids) What lessons has she learned: Encouraging children to get into the garden gives them a better understanding of where their food comes from.

32. Prince Charles

The Highgrove House is Prince Charles’ country home. Here visitors can tour his garden which features 37 acres of organic gardens, special themed gardens, the Thyme Walk (a pathway packed with fragrant herbs) and a four-acre wildflower meadow. Probably one of the greatest features of the Highgrove Garden is the Walled Kitchen Garden which produces enough vegetables and fruits to make this royal household completely self-sufficient. There is also apple orchards in the garden whose fruits are sent to a nearby retirement home and hospital.

Prince Charles could be the king of gardening for the royal family. No one has done more to raise awareness about gardening than the Prince himself. He is a passionate advocate of the organic lifestyle. Prince Charles has devoted time and personal fortune to saving old estate gardens across the UK, speaking tirelessly to groups and the media, and especially to the youth. It’s rare to see royalty in wellies and holding a pitchfork! His favourites include: Charlotte Potatoes, Happil Strawberries, Leeks, Spring Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts and Carrots. What has he learned: Native plants can create diversification and colour interest.

33. Oprah

One celebrity that is known for her love of gardening is Oprah. Not only does she have acres of gardens at her estate in Maui, she also posts about the fruits of her labors on Instagram all the time. Check it out when you get a chance. Oprah credits her love of gardening to her grandmother, who raised her on a small farm in Mississippi.

With her now 16-acre farm in Maui, she hopes can produce enough to give back to the beautiful island and make it more self-sustainable. She believes that her farm has assisted her with her weight struggles and helped her to develop a greater understanding of the importance of putting healthy foods in her body. Her favourites include: Baby Tomatoes, Basil and Hydrangeas. What lessons has she learned: Gardening does not only have to benefit yourself, but can assist the community?

34. Lauren Conrad

is an American television personality, fashion designer, and author. In September 2004, an 18-year-old Conrad came to prominence after being cast in the reality television series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, which documented her and her friends’ lives in their hometown of Laguna Beach, California. Lauren inherited a love of gardening from her mother.

Even though her current residence in Los Angeles doesn’t leave her much space for gardening, Lauren satisfied her need for gardening with a potted balcony garden. Her favourites include: Succulents and Herbs. What lesson has she learned: Even in small spaces, you can create a beautiful garden.

35. Nicole Kidman

Gardening is one of Nicole Kidman’s favourite hobbies. She has an organic vegetable garden and said that she is inspired by the wildlife and landscapes that surround it. She gave fans major envy after posting a photo of her beautiful garden at home in Nashville. The Undoing star shared a glimpse inside the sprawling outside space on her Instagram account this week, and it has the most beautiful bed of pink roses.

The Hollywood star has been spending a lot of time outdoors during the lockdown with her husband Keith Urban and their daughters Sunday, 11, and Faith, nine. Keith recently spoke about his family’s time in isolation during an interview with Entertainment Tonight and said that they were getting out in their backyard a lot, as well as playing music and playing card games. ‘It’s early days, still, in a lot of ways, but it’s been a very vibrant house,’ he said. Her favourites include: Gardenias and Corn. Lessons she has leaned: You can take up the hobby of gardening at any age.

36. Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba, who is probably one of the most celebrity moms, strives to live in an eco-friendly environment. She tries to get her daughter Honor in the garden as much as possible and teaches her how to cook meals with what they grow. Alba hopes to inspire both her girls to be advocates for the environment. Despite her busy schedule, she still finds the time to garden. My day starts early with yoga or spinning,” Jessica Alba says, “and, unless I have a pressing work engagement, ends with bedtime stories with the girls and a little TV time with my husband.”

In between, there are back-to-back meetings for The Honest Co., which Jessica started as a one-stop shop for the nontoxic, eco-friendly household, baby, and bath products she wanted to use but couldn’t easily find on the market. Jessica launched the company in 2008, shortly after becoming a mom “despite many people telling me I was crazy,” she says. Her favourites include: Butternut Squash and Kale. Lessons she has leaned: Gardening teaches kids to respect the environment.

37. Jake Gyllenhall

Jake Gyllenhall is the ambassador and spokesperson for The Edible Schoolyard Project. He was inspired by the way gardening brought his family and community together growing up. Jake Gyllenhaal is an organic vegan. He enjoys digging in the dirt in his garden. Jake is actively involved in the Edible Schoolyard Project, which encourages kids to adopt healthy diets and to grow vegetables and learn to cook food. Jake grew up with parents that loved to garden His favourites include: Anything fresh from the garden is his favourite. Lesson he has learned: Gardening should be an important part of the curriculum.

38. Oscar de la Renta

Great fashion sense was not the only thing Oscar de la Renta left behind. The fashion designer was also an avid gardener and had gardens not only at his Connecticut estate, but also on his beachfront property in the Dominican Republic. Over a decade following its original publication, Oscar de la Renta’s eponymous coffee table tome is beautifully reimagined to encompass the milestones and memories made since 2002.

The stunning fashion imagery will enrapture anyone with an appreciation for beauty, but what really has us in awe is the designer’s well manicured gardens and impeccably chic homes. Here, we get lost in a few of the verdant landscapes featured amongst the 208 pages—gardens that only an icon like de la Renta could conjure. His favourites: Gardenia, Ylang-Ylang, and Tuberose. The lesson he learned: Creativity can be ignited in the garden.

39. Suzanne Somers

Suzanne Somers is an American actress, author, singer, businesswoman, and health spokesperson. She appeared in the television role of Chrissy Snow on Three’s Company and as Carol Foster Lambert on Step by Step. In 2001, Somers was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy and radiation, but declined to undergo chemotherapy. In November 2008, Somers announced she was diagnosed with inoperable cancer by six doctors, but she learned a week later that she was misdiagnosed.

During this time, she interviewed doctors about cancer treatments and these interviews became the basis of her book, Knockout, about alternative treatments to chemotherapy, including a fermented mistletoe extract called Iscador. After being diagnosed with Breast Cancer, Suzanne Somers turned to organic gardening. She explained that she loves the ability to walk through her garden and pick fresh produce for her recipes. Her favourites include: Lettuce, cauliflower, corn, broccoli, fennel, cucumbers, kale, and artichokes. Lesson she learned: Why go to the grocery store when you can just walk out to your garden?

40. Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen planted a Triscuit Urban Farming garden back in 2010 and sealed her fate as one of our favorite celebrities of all time. We hope she dances while she digs and weeds. While wearing Converse. And laughing. The Home Farming Movement is collaboration with Triscuit and Urban Farming™ in which Triscuit and Urban Farming™ planted fifty community-based home farms in twenty cities across the United States in 2010, and this year we are planting 15 more community-based home farms in 5 cities. This creative collaboration has also inspired over 47,000 people to register their home-based farms with the Home Farming Movement and each garden is a part of the Urban Farming Global Food Chain®.

I’ve always loved that Triscuit is made with only a few simple ingredients and am excited to be working with them on such a wonderful project “helping people enjoy growing their own food at home.” — Taja Sevelle, Urban Farmingâ„¢ Executive Director – Watch videos of Taja Sevelle (Founder/Executive Director of Urban Farmingâ„¢) on The Ellen DeGeneres Show! Ellen DeGeneres’ wife Portia de Rossi revealed on her talk-show that she got gardening tools for Ellen’s 61st birthday this year.

39. Why Garden?

Why Not? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC )says gardening is exercise. Activities like raking and cutting grass might fall under the category of light to moderate exercise, while shoveling, digging, and chopping wood might be considered vigorous exercise. Either way, working in a garden uses every major muscle group in the body. This fact won’t surprise anyone who’s woken up sore after a day of yardwork. Studies have found that the physical exertion of working in a garden may help offset both age-related weight gain and childhood obesity Trusted Source.

Doctors have also known for some time that exercise improves cognitive functioning in the brain. There’s some debate about whether gardening on its own is enough to affect cognitive skills like memory. But new evidence shows that gardening activities may spur growth in your brain’s memory-related nerves. Researchers in Korea gave 20-minute gardening activities to people being treated for dementia in an inpatient facility. After the residents had raked and planted in vegetable gardens, researchers discovered increased amounts of some brain nerve growth factors associated with memory in both males and females.

Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:

https://www.theenglishgarden.co.uk/news-and-events/news/11-surprising-health-benefits-of-gardening/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/10-074.html

8 Surprising Health Benefits of Gardening

https://learn.eartheasy.com/articles/6-unexpected-health-benefits-of-gardening/ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090203142517.htm
https://www.ahta.org/horticultural-therapy https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20181210-gardening-could-be-the-hobby-that-helps-you-live-to-100