Get your hands dirty and enjoy a host of health benefits

As a self-employed financial adviser, Amanda is often under the pump at work. So when the 48-year old is off the clock, she likes to make the most of her downtime.

Amanda’s favourite way of doing that is by spending her weekends in the garden. She doesn’t just yank out rogue weeds, she also makes her own compost, harvests her own produce (growing everything from turmeric to sweet potatoes) and checks on her herbs.

Amanda derives “immense satisfaction” from what her garden yields. When whipping up a batch of rich Italian meat sauce, for example, she takes pride in seasoning it with her own home-grown herbs, including rosemary, bay leaves, thyme, oregano and chilli. But her favourite part of gardening is how therapeutic she finds the actual pursuit. “There’s a great antidepressant quality to getting your hands dirty,” she says. “It just relaxes me; it gets me out of my head.”

Toni Salter, a horticultural therapist and supporter of the Greener Spaces Better Places program, understands why Amanda loves gardening. She says watching plants blossom or seeds we’ve sown germinate can improve our self-esteem and flood us with feelings of satisfaction, which is great news for our mental health.

It can also boost our physical health. While gardening might seem like a gentle pursuit, Salter says digging, fertilising, planting and mowing are all physically demanding activities that offer an excellent cardiovascular workout. Such activities not only get your heart pumping, she adds, they also burn off extra adrenalin, which is particularly helpful for reducing anxiety.

Psychologist Jocelyn Brewer agrees that gardening can help manage stress levels. It can also be an exercise in mindfulness, as you focus on the task at hand rather than letting your mind hone in on your worries. Spending time outdoors in natural daylight also “kicks off a range of benefits that influence mood and wellbeing”, says Brewer. Sunlight can aid in resetting your circadian rhythm, which helps get your sleep/wake cycle in sync. Plus, the vitamin D boost can lift your mood.

“There’s a great antidepressant quality to getting your hands dirty. It just relaxes me; it gets me out of my head.”

Keen to get your hands dirty but lacking a green thumb? Salter suggests doing a little research before bundling seeds into your trolley, starting with heading to your local nursery and chatting to a qualified horticulturist about which plants best suit your soil and climate and are right for the season.

Amanda also recommends hopping onto Pinterest for inspiration or joining Facebook gardening groups, both of which will allow you to bounce ideas around with like-minded people and get your creative juices flowing.