What does gardening 'do' for you?

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I've been asked recently what it is about gardening that is so therapeutic.

I know I love to be outdoors in the fresh air, with the sun on my skin, in amongst the worms getting my hands in the earth.

There's the smell of earth and shrubs, the tidying and pruning, the satisfaction of standing back at the end of the day with a glass of wine, enjoying the fruit of all that labour.

Without a doubt, it is truly therapeutic.

But if it were to be taken away from you, if you found you couldn't balance when you bed over, or that one side of your body is numb and the strength has gone from your hands to enable you to dig or prune properly, and if you are incapacitated by an extreme exhaustion every waking moment, what would you find to do to take the place of your gardening?

For some reason the idea of sitting on a park bench breathing in fresh air and watching other people garden doesn't really cut it quite the same.

Can you identify what it is that makes gardening such good therapy, and what decent substitutes for it that there could possible be?

I teach gardening to people in wheelchairs, with all sorts of medical and emotional and behavioural issues, and I can tell you that gardening is not just for those who are fully fit and healthy. There are ways and means around most of the things you spoke about, from gardening in trays or in a greenhouse at waist height to using long tools and no digging if you are unable to have the strength to do so.

Thanks for your reply.

Would you then say there is as much pleasure to be taken from table-top gardening?

So perhaps nothing to do with physical exertion then?

Long walks in the countryside would be a good second for me. I think there is something actually therapeutic about just looking at lots of green.

Would you then say there is as much pleasure to be taken from table-top gardening

It's not about height of soil if that's what you are asking...

We have a large garden, with, unfortunately, heavy clay soil that in thirty-five years we have never got fully under control. Now, at the age of 75, I have balance problems, but still do some work in the garden, with a walking stick in one hand, and a long handled tool in the other. A large, strong plastic tub makes a seat from which I can weed. Fortunately, we can afford two hours a week by a chap who mows the lawn, and does the more strenuous jobs.

And I contribute replies on MN on a variety of topics, so I hope my experience is of some benefit to others.

I think its about much more than the physical exertion. It's about seeing things burst into life - the excitement of the first few seeds coming up, the appearance of green shoots letting you know spring is on the way. It gives you an awareness of the wildlife that surrounds you too.

It's a very personal thing and everyone has greatly varying tastes and styles. But the one thing that cuts through all these differing styles and approaches is taking a space, however small and making it grow how you want it to - whether that is renovating a native hedgerow, creating a gravel garden or growing vegetable in pots.

Also when you garden it grounds you very much with the seasons and connects you to the natural world that people can often get disconnected from with the hectic pace of modern life. There's a rhythm to the seasons that can be very soothing and quite comforting when you are undergoing periods of stress - the reassurance that the familiar pattern continues year in and year out.

This thread has reminded me of gardening for my 90-something granny; she would stand over me pointing her walking stick at the weeds I was to pull up. It is a happy memory and I think she enjoyed it too.

I am a seriously talentless gardener and have never made anything grow as I want it to but I still find it very therapeutic... I guess it is the close contact with green living things and the experience of being outdoors doing something constructive.

Also, after a hard day at work I find savagely pruning something much the best cure for my temper.

For me it's being outside and seeing things grow. I enjoy the physical aspect but always make sure I take the time to just sit and look and enjoy my garden. The excitement of waiting to see how well things flower even in beds and pots I haven't touched this year is part of gardening. As is talking about it with like minded folk!

I have also worked in a a garden with people with physical and cognitive problems and they can still garden in some small way and still get enjoyment.

Watching things grow from seed gives me immense pride that I'm helping something to live and breathe

At the moment I've got cherry tomato and sweet peppers growing from seed. They are in between the seedling/young plant stage and I find it therapeutic just watering them.

I've also sown herb seeds in the last couple of days.

This is me being normally brown fingered

Ooh where to start?

I love the creative side of it - I have created 2 gardens from scratch - love planning how to use the space and planting - so would always get satisfaction from that even if someone else had to do the manual labour. In fact a lot of the planting in our current garden was done by dh as I was 8 months pg at the time and found bending/kneeling pretty uncomfortable.

I find it incredibly therapeutic and relaxing. Pruning is my favourite job - just taxing enough to engage my brain and forget about everyday stresses, never so taxing it would be a stress in itself.

There's also something refreshing about waiting to see the fruits of your labour in a world of increasingly instant gratification.

For me it's the peace & quiet, fresh air, coupled with a sense of pride in actually doing something.
Our garden is very peaceful & full of wildlife.
I am disabled and am limited as to what I can do especially with heavy work but I work around that and still garden. It's all a bit new to us as our previous house had 8m2 of 'garden', we moved here last year and have had to get to grips with over an acre.

I agree with the peace and quiet, wonky, I personally don't understand people who listen to music when gardening. I appreciate everybody's different but I'd rather listen to birdsong, or, well...nothing.

I'm currently making a list of projects I want to start soon:

Cherry tomato hanging basket

edible flowers in a container: nasturtium, lavender & pot marigold.

Italian pot: rocket, sweet pepper and basil.

Mixed mint trough.

And I can't wait

Today I really feel like I've accomplished a lot
Planted 110 seedlings/small plants out, planted tulip bulbs brought home from Amsterdam by DH last night, prepared 2 beds for planting onions & brocolli, repotted some sorry looking sage, mint & thyme. DS helped plant out 10 plants before he got bored. Strange child has also begged for me to buy him spinach to plant as it's his new favourite vegetable.
Now happy but exhausted.

I wonder how much of it is perceived control?

By that I mean, if you have a shared garden, do you get blocked with every decision you make, which then discourages you from bothering anymore!

I used to be so enthusiastic when I had my own little bit of green, to do with it whatever I so desired, but now I have half the sized garden I was used to - and even that is now shared by someone else with very strong opinions.

I was thinking it is the loss of health that has dampened it down for me but since reading your replies I am honking there must be more to it than meets the eye.

Thinking not honking!

For me it's about being out in the open, as someone else said it makes you more aware of wildlife around you. It's also about thinking what you want to create and getting on and doing it, watching everything grow throughout the season, sitting back and enjoying it in the height of summer when everything is in full bloom, planning ahead when it's winter and thinking this is what I want next year. It's about a whole raft of different things really.