When my children were young, I wanted to teach them healthy eating habits, with the main goal of encouraging them to learn how to plant and grow fresh food, as well as inadvertently reaping the excellent benefit of increasing their cognitive abilities. This was especially important for us to do during their formative years in an effort to lay a strong foundation for building their character while they were still in elementary school.
Together, we built a fourteen-foot by fourteen-foot raised garden in the far west corner of our fenced-in backyard. Once the “fruits of our labor” began to sprout, I enjoyed watching my youngest snack while he was playing outside. He loved to eat at his own leisure by going to the garden, grabbing cherry tomatoes and green onions, and eating them while sitting in his treehouse, attached to the top of his swing set.
We grew the following vegetables and herbs:
- Lettuce
- Cucumbers
- Zucchini
- Carrots
- Peas
- Green onions
- Oregano
- Basil
- Cilantro
- Roma tomatoes
- Cherry tomatoes
During the summer, as our garden began to bloom, we noticed that our Labrador/Pitbull mixed dog, named Phoebe, also enjoyed the garden because she kept stealing our tomatoes before they were ripe and red. I guess she preferred the green tomatoes! Phoebe would also dig up our carrots and eat them whole – dirt and all.
One afternoon, we realized that Phoebe was not only eating the carrots, but she was also digging up that area of the garden. Although what I am about to say may sound like a fictional story, I assure you that I am not making this up. When attempting to fix the area Phoebe dug up, we realized what our beloved K9 was trying to tell us. She found that a mama rabbit had made a nest with her babies in our carrots – oh the irony! Ha, ha, silly Phoebe.
Besides eating and cooking healthy, healing was going on the inside of my children, and they didn’t even see it coming! Yes, I am a very, very sneaky mama! Gardening, or horticultural therapy as it is technically known, has been shown to improve memory, cognitive abilities, task initiation, language skills, and socialization. In a physical sense, horticultural therapy helps strengthen muscles, improve coordination, balance, and endurance.
According to a report about brain health by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation, a British public-service broadcaster), “In 2015, Norway became one of the first countries to create a national dementia care plan, which includes government-offered daycare services such as Inn på tunet – translated as ‘into the yard’ – or care farms. Now, as researchers recognise the vast cognitive benefits of working on the land, more communities are integrating gardening into healthcare – treating all kinds of health needs through socially-prescribed activities in nature, or green prescriptions.
‘Nature prescriptions can increase physical activity and social connection while reducing stress, which have multiple positive knock-on effects for blood pressure, blood sugar control and healthy weight, reducing the risk of diseases that can lead to dementia,’ says Melissa Lem, a family physician based in Vancouver and researcher at the University of British Columbia, Canada – where she examines the opportunities and barriers around nature-based prescriptions. “We all know that more physical activity improves mental and physical health, but gardening supercharges those benefits,’ she says,”.
Benefits of gardening
As far as the environment is concerned, gardens have a natural ability to cleanse the air and soil, as well as create habitats for birds and insects. While erosion of the soil is prevented, it reduces CO2 emissions, offers better management of stormwater, and, in most cases, provides a buffer against flooding and water pollution.
Psychologically, the naturally occurring bacteria found in the soil we gardened activated our brain cells to produce serotonin and grounded us to the present moment to achieve a mindful state of being.
Health-conscious and forward-thinking companies offer employees on-site gardens as a wellness perk. For example, Google has tens of thousands of square feet of gardening space at its Mountain View campus in California. Furthermore, they provide their employees with opportunities to take cooking classes, allowing them to learn how to best utilize the gardening benefits.
From the National Institute of Health, “Horticultural therapies are part of an emerging strand of social prescribing known as ‘green prescribing,’ and this paper identifies military veterans with PTSD and continuing/debilitating psychological and mental health concerns as an identifiable study group who can benefit from this alternative approach,”.
Here are some more health benefits of gardening/horticultural therapy:
- Help fight disease
- Build strength
- Improve memory
- Reduces stress
- Helps addiction recovery
- Fosters human connections to combat loneliness
- Heals and empowers
- Helps to manage eco-anxiety
- Exposure to vitamin D
- Decreased dementia risk
- Mood-boosting benefits
- Enjoyable aerobic exercise
How do you keep a herb garden in your kitchen?
Since I live in Michigan, there are only a few months to reap the benefits of an outdoor garden, so I would like to know how to maintain an herb garden in my kitchen or, at the very least, in an area of my home that receives the most sunlight. Below are some tips on how to best make an indoor herb garden:
- Make sure to provide plenty of light
- Ensure quality air circulation and cool conditions
- Watch watering; be sure not to over- or under-water. Balance!
- Rotate often
- Fertilize monthly
- Prune regularly
Five easy-to-grow herbs:
- Basil
- Chives
- Cilantro
- Mint
- Oregano
Additionally, keeping a journal to track growth patterns and any issues that arise is both informative and rewarding.
Getting children involved in gardening can be particularly rewarding, as I have experienced firsthand. Introducing my sons to the basics of planting and growing cycles has instilled a lifelong appreciation for nature and self-sufficiency. Moreover, gardening provided learning opportunities in science, nutrition, and patience, as they had to observe the seeds transform into edible plants.
Is gardening good for your brain?
In conclusion, yes, gardening does boost brain health. It also strengthens the body and nurtures emotional well-being. It’s a fun, hands-on way to connect with my kids and nature, while reducing stress and fostering lifelong learning—making it a rewarding activity for people of all ages, both indoors and out.