Gardening can help ease stress and anxiety, while helping to lower blood pressure.
As the country readies itself to celebrate Garden Day on October 9, we spoke to its organisers about the benefits of the activity.
Besides the pleasure of smelling the roses, science is proving that gardening has distinct health benefits. According to various studies, gardening lowers blood pressure and increases brain activity.
It combats stress and anxiety more effectively than any other kind of leisure activity - including reading! It also alleviates angst and depression.
For older folk, it lowers the risk of dementia, stroke and heart attack." Gardening, they said, could help people recuperate faster.
"It even seems to calm prisoners in jail. People who garden tend to eat more fruits and vegetables and the same is true for kids who garden at home or at school."
According to UK economist and behavioural scientist Professor Paul gardeners and florists were the happiest of all professions.
Another study conducted by Dr Nancy Etcoff of the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, reveals that when fresh cut flowers are present in the home, people feel more compassionate toward others, have fewer worries and anxiety, and feel less depressed.
Etcoff said: "The morning blues, it turns out, is a real phenomenon, with positive moods - happiness, friendliness and warmth, for example - manifesting much later in the day."
"Interestingly, when we placed a small bouquet of flowers into their morning routines, people perked up."
Spending time in your garden and getting your hands dirty can expose you to friendly bacteria in the soil, which can improve your mood as well as boost your immune system.
READ: South Africa to celebrate First Garden Day
Anyone from a newbie gardener to a gardening guru can benefit from the calming effects of mulching, potting, pruning or weeding. "Gardening encourages one to focus on the task at hand and by doing so living in the here and now. Everyday stressors dwindle as one gains a peaceful and grounded state of mind."
"When you are looking intensely at something, or you bend down to smell something, you bypass the analytical function of the mind. You stop obsessing and worrying: your senses are awaken, you enter the present moment, you move to 'the zone'."
Gardening helps inspire creativity and allows individuals to express themselves in unique ways. It offers an outlet to connect with oneself, one's dreams and one's passions by creating a space to reflect, nurture and grow.
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