Plant a Plant

Ways to lessen stress; one is gardening. Studies show that being around plants lets people feel the rhythm of seasons and the weather.

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  • Topic: Gardening for Beginners
  • Author: Cindy Bellinger
  • Keywords: health, de-stress, gardening, immune systems, lighten moods
  • Date: January 2005

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A recent issue of U.S. News featured 50 ways to improve and de-stress your life. Some of the suggestions: clean your closets and move to Bismarck, North Dakota.

Another de-stressor was growing a plant.

Now, for those of us already in the know about such things, this isn’t new. We already know that getting out and working the garden is not only the best way to end a day, but a good way to begin the day as well. There’s nothing like caring for a plot of land—even if it’s a window box planter.

Then there was a quote by Richard Mattson, professor of horticulture at Kansas State University. “The body changes and reacts rather quickly to the presence of plants and flowers in the environment,” he said, and went on to cite research that shows being around plants can improve the immune system and lighten moods.

He also remarked that just viewing a plant tends to make the mind relax. It reminded me of my college days when I visited a friend in San Diego. She was living in a miserable apartment complex.

“That’s what makes it bearable,” she said. I looked where she was pointing and if I stood on my tippy-toes and tilted my head just so, I could see the corner of a palm frond. That was it. But it’s what got her through—a touch of green, a connection to the outdoors.

We hear a lot about how modern society is cutting us off from nature. Now studies are showing that being around plants lets people feel the rhythm of the seasons and the weather. There had to be a study about that?

Several horticultural therapists were cited in the article as well, basically saying that the body and the spirit tend to come together more while gardening. Well, we also knew that. But it’s good that good of planting a plant is finally getting out.