Mental health and gardening

My Bottlebrush is going great guns!!

Glorianny

I've never understood the attraction of gardening. If it's nice enough to garden it's the sort of weather you want to sit and sunbathe in. If it's awful why on earth would you want to go out at all?

😂😂😂

Well, I certainly got stressed today when DH pruned my camellia!

"I thought I'd surprise you" he said.

Not to belittle MH problems in any way. I know when a relative was having problems and found her career very stressful and her marriage had broken down , she gave up her job and worked in a plant nursery.
She said she loved it, it was calming and it helped her a lot.

Some people are born gardeners I think, and some aren’t. Did anybody else do Candide for A Level French many moons ago, because that’s what it brings to mind for me, “Il faut cultiver notre jardin”, we must cultivate our garden. The concept of gardening being good for your mental health has been around for a very long time.

However, it does beg the question Sidelined - why are you watching Gardeners World anyway if you dislike gardening? Switch it off, problem solved.

If it works that’s great and I mean it! I have my own MH problems but gardening doesn’t do the trick for me and I feel a failure because I come from naturally green-handed gardeners. As others have said, it’s another chore that demands my attention.

I guess it’s the constant making the point about the MH benefits that irritates. TV companies/media grab a catch phrase and wear it out! It’s counter-productive in my view.

I've never understood the attraction of gardening. If it's nice enough to garden it's the sort of weather you want to sit and sunbathe in. If it's awful why on earth would you want to go out at all?

(where there are people around.)

I’d say the same about housework as you’re saying about gardening Sidelined. The sheer grind of housework, with no reward at the end other than maintaining the status quo is enough to depress anybody. The garden though is constantly evolving, and your effort is richly rewarded with beauty and produce, I absolutely love it - and I’m sure it’s good for my mental health because I forget everything else while I’m out there. To each her own I guess.

I find I get more MH benefits out of walks in say local Botanical Gardens where I can get the benefits but not have so much responsibility with a big garden! I'd concentrate on lovely outdoors spaces where there are around and maybe cafes.

We found that gardening caused us stress by always needing to be done in the same way that housework is always there. We employ a gardener and cleaners.

if things don’t improve soon I might need to take a break from all things gardening-related for the sake f my mental health!

This made me smile. Joan Bakewell once said that she hated gardening because it was just outdoor housework.😂

I’m a very keen gardener and it does wonders for my mental health but I agree with you about the constant ramming home of the message.

Sidelined I agree with your comment about finding gardening quite stressful - same here. My friend has kindly helped me get my largish garden under control now I am worried things will die and watering has become an exhausting chore.

Yes there is a lot of emphasis on this but for those of us who have mental health issues - in my case depression and anxiety - being out in the garden for a while is a wonderful tonic. If you’re not in need of that, be thankful.