Greenery and natural surroundings are good for both your physical and mental health, with a 30-minute session of garden therapy great for releasing stress and unwinding.
Gardening can help you to remain positive, healthy, in touch with nature, and provide an activity you can do with your loved ones.
Here are three top tips to create a healing haven at home:
1 – Introduce water to your outdoor space. A cascading pond or waterfall and large rock pool or reflection pond are therapeutic in the garden. Even if you’re short on space and only have a balcony or courtyard, incorporate water where you can. Something as simple as a bird bath or small water feature urn will do the trick. Water can reduce blood pressure and helps to create positive energy.
2 – Create a sensory garden. A sensory garden can be created by introducing textured plants like lambs ears, Banskia, or magnolias. Plants like lavender, sweet alyssum, honey-scented white flowers, gardenia, jasmine, frangipani, port wine magnolia and Daphnes all provide a heady scent in outdoor spaces – and all will do well in pots if space is limited. Also consider adding plants that offer medicinal properties. Aloe Vera plants can be planted in garden beds as well as pots and hanging baskets and are great for soothing sunburn, stings and bites – they’re also regarded as a natural insect repellent.
3 – Grow food at home. Herb and vegie patches can be grown in bigger garden plots or planter boxes, or on a smaller scale in pots on balconies, roof top gardens and atriums.
