Attention all plant people: let’s celebrate Garden Day on October 20!
Garden, no matter how big or small, has the potential to bring South Africans together, which is why on Sunday all plant people are encouraged to wear a flower crown and celebrate Garden Day with neighbours, family and friends.
Garden Day is for everyone: beginner gardeners, indoor-plant mums and dads, patio potters, rose growers, and wild weeders. It doesn’t matter if you’re part of a group growing and harvesting home crops, or a Gardashian whose perfectly pristine, the rolling lawn is making everyone else turn green.
You’ve worked hard all year, and now it’s time to hang up your gloves and allow yourself the time to appreciate your garden. Even plant parents need a break.
Enthusiasts are encouraged to show their support by making and wearing flower crowns and hosting a celebratory event. It could be tea and cake, a cup of umqombothi, a plant swap or lunch on the lawn – as long as you’re surrounded by greenery and toasting the goodness our gardens give us all year round.
Power plants Spending regular time in the garden has undisputed health advantages, and there is an abundance of scientific evidence to back up such claims.
“Next time you’re feeling under the weather, down in the dumps or stressed out, don’t reach for a packet of pills – grab your garden fork instead,” says professor Nox Makunga, a plant scientist at the Botany and Zoology department of Stellenbosch University.
“There are dozens of studies globally that have looked into how gardening affects your health and there’s only one conclusion: gardening is incredibly good for you.”
In fact, gardening is considered so beneficial in the UK that it’s estimated one in five doctors practise ‘green prescribing’, where patients partake in regular gentle activities such as community gardening to prevent diseases like diabetes and dementia, and tackle issues like isolation.
And if you are under the impression that gardening is the preserve of retired folk with lots of time on their well-worn hands, think again. Millennials in the UK, disturbed by an increasingly turbulent world, are finding peace amid plants, eschewing relaxation trends like yoga and meditation.
This well-spent time can be extremely beneficial in a number of ways:
• Replace screens with greens for lifelong genes.
Every hour spent in front of a TV screen shortens your life by 21 minutes, whereas every hour spent gardening lengthens it.
• Budding brains. School gardening clubs teach children fine motor skills through tasks such as transplanting seedlings and tying in tomatoes.
• Green finger gains. Gardening gets us off our couches and increases physical health by an average of 33%, also contributing to a decreased rate of heart disease and diabetes. Half an hour pushing a lawnmower burns 150 calories, equivalent to a moderate session in the gym – and you’ll never have to worry about renewing your membership.
• Couples who garden together, stay together. Yes, planting partners report that they’re far more patient with each other.
• Dig in. The secret of happiness for gardeners may well lie in the soil: mice show increased levels of serotonin – the “happiness hormone’ – when exposed to soil bacteria.
• Planting for productivity. Office workers who have houseplants on their desks are 15% more productive than those who don’t.
• Taking thyme out. A study undertaken in The Netherlands asked two groups of people to perform a highly stressful task. During their downtime, they asked one group to read a book and the other to perform 30 minutes of gardening.
Even though both tasks lowered levels of the stress-inducing hormone Cortisol in the brain, gardening had a higher effect. So, go and get those hands dirty and relax.
Ready… steady… grow!
Taking part in Garden Day couldn’t be easier: visit www.gardenday.co.za to download a toolkit with hints, tips and how-to videos, all aimed at helping you create the perfect celebration. Join the movement by following @GardenDaySA on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
• Garden Day was created by gardening app Candida, which connects gardeners with fellow plant lovers, public gardens and nurseries, with the aim of kick-starting a movement to unite South Africans.