by Peter Shaw of Ocean Road Landscaping
Winter does a good job of making us appreciate spring: in other words, spring is so much better because of winter. We’ve all been cold, wet and miserable; we’ve all suffered from a lack of sunlight. Then suddenly the air warms up a bit, the sun stays out a little bit longer and the garden starts to grow. And we’re not the only ones to notice. Look around and you’ll see the bees and insects are active, the birdsong shifts. The whole world seems to come to life in springtime and it’s been made more dramatic and special because of the dullness of winter. This is where therapeutic gardening comes in
Here’s a personal garden project that’s a little out there, and spring is a good season to introduce it. If you’re more of a mow-the-go type of gardener and not the sort of person who potters around and takes breaks along the way to smell the roses, bear with me because I believe there really is something in this…
The point I’m about to make is probably easier to appreciate at this time of year. Ask any gardener and they’ll agree that we all enjoy a fantastic feeling when we go outside and get gardening – in spring in particular – when things are starting to move and to come alive, a natural way into therapeutic gardening. As we step out into the garden and start to prune, tidy up, plant and generally get our hands dirty, the therapy begins, I call it therapeutic gardening.
I believe that gardening is good for our bodies (it is exercise and there are many studies to prove it) but it’s also good for our minds and souls. It brings balance and perspective. I think gardening is one of those things that grounds us and brings us back to what really matters in life.
We might head out into the garden with something on our minds, but by the time we’ve spent half and hour quietly weeding the veggie patch or dead-heading a few daisy bushes, we’ve connected back. We’re in a much better space than when we headed out earlier.
There’s a New Zealand documentary released recently – Jess Feast’s Gardening with Soul – which follows a remarkable woman around in her garden for a year. At the time of the filming she is ninety years old and she has a knack for helping people to see the simple, good points in life. After retiring from a very full working life, she sets up an allotment-style garden scheme and gardens amongst a community of gardeners. Now that’s therapeutic gardening! The film captures her personal life philosophies as she turns the compost – literally. She is much better at expressing what I’ve been trying to say here, “The garden is saying to me all the time, life is evolving and if you’re going to waste …your life worrying… you’re wasting your time. Just enjoy it. Make sense?” – Sister Loyola Galvin
If you’d like to incorporate more spaces for therapeutic gardening, our design team can assist you achieve this. You can use our Contact Us page, or call our team on 03 5263 3133 (Australia)