Part 2 : Gardens For Physical Wellbeing

Guest post by Sarah Gerhardt

Introduction

Gardening and spending time in gardens have major benefits for our health: mentally, physically and socially.

In part 1, I wrote about gardens for mental wellbeing and some of the topics discussed could equally feature in part 2 because mental and physical wellbeing are closely linked. For example, I discussed reducing sensory stressors such as traffic noise and air pollution, which can help both mentally and physically.

This part of the series focuses on aspects of gardens more directly linked to physical health. I’ll explore how gardens can make you more active and more physically resilient.

Boost your Immune System with Dirt

For a garden to feel restorative, you need to feel comfortable in it. This often starts with a feeling of enclosure.

Dirt is indeed good for you. Contact with soil exposes you to a wide range of microbes that live there, which helps train the immune system and supports its healthy development.

However, our modern lifestyles mean that we have less and less contact with these microbes. As a result, many autoimmune diseases are becoming more frequent. It appears that ongoing inflammation as a result of low immunity can also have effects on our mental health, with potential links to some types of depression.

Research suggests that childhood exposure to diverse microbes is linked to healthier immune function later in life. This does not mean that we should abandon basic hygiene practices such as washing our hands after going to the toilet, but it does suggest that we should encourage our children to play outdoors where they are exposed to a much larger range and quantity of microbes than in sanitised indoor spaces.

Get the whole family involved in day-to-day gardening jobs, such as weeding or planting, which will increase their exposure to beneficial microbes in the soil, potentially boosting their immunity.

If possible, involve children in growing your own fruit, vegetables and herbs. Fast-growing crops such as radishes, rocket, tomatoes or strawberries ensure that children don’t lose interest. These are all plants that can be grown in pots or hanging baskets, in case space is limited.

Most children love digging in the dirt, and some are fascinated by worms and insects. Encourage this by helping them make a wormery. A simple wormery is easy to make from a clear plastic bottle with the top and bottom cut off, stuck in a plant pot and filled with alternating layers of damp soil and sand. Add a little organic matter and a few earthworms, and children can watch how worms mix the layers, break down organic material and improve the soil. After a week or two, the worms can be returned to the garden.

Reduce Allergens in the Garden

If you or your loved ones are among the many allergy sufferers, it is a good idea to design your garden to include plants that produce lower levels of pollen. This helps allergy sufferers enjoy their garden throughout the year.

For people suffering from hay fever, spending time outside can be tricky when the pollen count is high.

Dioecious plants such as holly and Skimmia allow you to select female plants, which produce no pollen. A lot of double flowers are sterile or near sterile and produce very little pollen; however, as a result, a lot of these also offer very little food for bees, so planting them is a trade-off.

Plants that are pollinated by wind and water, such as birch or hazel, tend to produce a lot more pollen than those pollinated by animals, and in the latter group, some naturally produce less pollen than others. The Ogren Plant Allergy Scale (OPALS) is a helpful indicator for how allergy-friendly a plant is. It rates a plant on a scale from 1-10 based on its allergenicity, with 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest. Examples of plants with a rating of 2 and below include many tubular and hooded flowers such as foxglove, agapanthus and snapdragon. Clematis and Dianthus are still a good choice, with a rating of 3 each.

Avoid ornamental grasses, single-flowered daisies and chrysanthemums, which have high OPALS scores. If you like grasses, stick to female plants or similar-looking foliage plants such as Phormium. It is also a good idea to avoid strongly scented plants such as jasmine, as they may cause smell sensitivities.

Many trees are wind-pollinated, making them difficult for allergy sufferers. Apples, rowans and cherries are better choices as they produce little airborne pollen.

Grasses are usually the worst for many hay fever sufferers, which sadly makes a lawn or meadow a difficult choice in the garden. A combination of paving stones and groundcover plants, such as creeping thyme, is a good alternative. Alternatively, keep the lawn short to stop grasses from flowering.

Another smart way to reduce allergens in the garden is to create permeable boundaries, such as trellises. These will help increase airflow, so that pollen does not become trapped in the garden. Installing a low-allergen hedge along the windward side of the garden allows you to capture pollen from outside the garden before it reaches you. Good hedge plants for low allergenicity include hawthorn, Escallonia, Choisya, Pittosporum and female holly plants. Avoid privet and anything with catkins.

Garden Medicine

Plants have long played a major role in supporting health, and many modern medicines are derived from plant compounds. While remedies from the garden
should not substitute seeking medical advice, it is a good idea to set aside part of the garden for plants that can support the body’s power to heal itself.

Many plant-based treatments have a good track record for managing minor ailments. Whether you have space to set aside for a proper herb garden or simply wish to
plant a few remedies in a pot, there are some great choices for medicinal plants to include in your garden.

For example, camomile is traditionally used to promote relaxation and sleep, peppermint to aid digestion, rosemary to support concentration and sage to ease menopause symptoms. Calendula, aloe vera and witch hazel are commonly used in balms and lotions for minor skin complaints.

Plant-based medicinal remedies can be extremely powerful, so always use a trusted source when preparing them and only take the recommended amount. Seek medical advice if in doubt, especially if you have underlying health conditions and take medication that could interact with them.

Getting Fit in the Garden

Exercise is good for us, but did you know that doing it in nature may be even better? Exercising in nature stimulates an enzyme that may help regenerate DNA in our chromosomes and potentially prevent age-related illnesses. This happens because our brains are in a more restorative mode when exercising in nature, and our stress levels tend to be lower than when we exercise indoors.

Gardening can be more physically demanding than some forms of exercise, such as yoga. At the same time, it increases muscle strength and flexibility and exercises joints. Unlike many forms of exercise, gardening often keeps us active for longer because our focus is on the task rather than the workout.

While different gardening activities combined, such as digging, mowing, weeding and planting, can give us a full body workout, as with any other exercise, it is important to warm up beforehand and not overdo it to prevent injury. Building up core strength and improving balance with other forms of exercise, such as yoga or dancing, helps prevent injury from
gardening.

It is equally important to use the right tool for your body. Make sure that the handles of spades and forks are the correct length for your height, and avoid spending extended periods of time in a bent-over position. It is often much better for your back to squat or kneel if your body and the task allow for those positions. Use proper lifting technique and ask for help if something is too heavy or cumbersome to lift. Switch tasks regularly to avoid repetitive strain injuries.

Creating Healthy Soil

I already touched on food growing as a means to get children involved in gardening but growing healthy food is only possible in healthy soil. Soil full of microbes, fungi, insects, worms and other organisms produces nutrients needed to keep plants healthy, and ultimately us.

So the best way to go about food growing is to nourish your soil, or, if your soil is contaminated, to create alternative means to grow food safely. If your beds have a good amount of earthworms and your plants are growing strongly with lots of healthy foliage and flowers, chances are that your soil is in great condition. If leaves look discoloured, plants flower poorly, and growth looks stunted, then your soil needs improving.

One of the best ways to feed your soil is regular mulching with biodegradable material such as weed-free garden compost, well-rotted manure, leaf mould or spent mushroom compost. Mulches like these help retain moisture in the soil and slowly break down to release nutrients into the soil. This provides food for soil organisms and plants.

Where possible, combine mulching with a no-dig approach. Adding organic matter to the surface rather than digging it in helps preserve soil structure, protect soil life and reduces weed germination. Complete no-dig gardening is rarely practical, but minimising disturbance and avoiding soil compaction are worthwhile goals.

It is sensible to test your soil for contamination before growing food, using a soil testing kit for toxic materials or a professional service. Soil contamination can be caused by waste from manufacturing, agricultural poison and chemical and sewage leaks.

If the test shows that your soil is contaminated, there are a few different ways to ensure that you can still grow healthy fruit and vegetables. If the contamination is relatively minor, it may be enough to replace the soil with clean topsoil to a depth suitable for the vegetables you want to grow. A safer and more thorough way is to grow in raised beds, containers or baskets using good quality compost rather than growing directly in the ground.

Growing Healthy Food

A diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables provides us with nutrients essential for our bodies and helps reduce the risk of many diseases. Shop-bought produce is often transported and stored for extended periods, which can reduce nutritional value. In fact, research shows that overall today’s commercial crops contain measurably fewer nutrients than they used to.

Growing your own produce gives you control over variety selection and freshness. How we pick, store and cook our harvest is important too. Many green leafy vegetables are best eaten freshly picked, while others, such as tomatoes and winter squashes, actually increase in nutrition when stored at room temperature after harvesting. Microwaving, steaming, and sauteing are often better than boiling because less soluble nutrients leach into the water and get lost.

What you can and want to grow is highly individual. To avoid having a glut of vegetables ready all at the same time, sowing in succession is a good idea. Many salads grow fast and can be sown in containers on a windowsill every 4 to 6 weeks for a continuous supply throughout the growing season. If you don’t have much outdoor space, try dwarf fruit trees and make use of vertical space by training plants along walls or fences and stacked container growing. Sprouting seeds such as alfalfa or cress indoors is another very space-efficient way to add nutrients to your diet.

Conclusion

Physical wellbeing is affected by small decisions and habits, and gardens can support many of them at once. They connect us with beneficial microbes, encourage movement, provide opportunities to grow nutritious food and create healthy environments.

You don’t need a large vegetable plot or a perfectly designed garden to experience these benefits. Even a few herbs, a small raised bed, or more time outdoors can make a difference.

In the final part of this series, I will look at another important aspect of wellbeing gardening: the role gardens play in reducing isolation and creating stronger communities.

About the author: Sarah Gerhardt is a gardener, linguist and punk musician based in Edinburgh. She was head gardener at the Dean Gardens, Edinburgh for 9 years and runs her own gardening business Gerhardt’s Garden Service. Find out more via her Linktree: https://linktr.ee/gerhardtsgardenservice