Close-up of two blooming white daffodil flowers with bright yellow centers, surrounded by long green leaves in a garden setting.

The air wafted, sweet and warm, through the budding branches, over the greening grass, in and about the Daffodils as they swayed to and fro.  The earth was softening, and the landscape was ready to burst with color and life.  Nature was beckoning us outdoors into her lovely realm.

Stone steps covered in fallen autumn leaves lead uphill through a forest of bare trees. A metal handrail is visible on the right, and the sky is cloudy in the background.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and current state laws, home has suddenly become our office, our classroom.  Outside the home, social distancing is the new norm, leaving many to feel isolated, anxious, frustrated and disconnected. Now, more than ever, we need to connect with nature, and gardening is the perfect vehicle for many, many reasons.

Pink magnolia flowers bloom on branches against a bright blue sky, viewed from below. Sunlight highlights petals, creating a vibrant contrast with the clear sky, capturing the essence of spring.

Get Some Exercise & Vitamin D

Gardening provides both anaerobic and aerobic exercise.  An hour of gardening can burn up to 300 calories, and best of all, it’s free!  Additionally, Vitamin D is primarily acquired through sun light, so soak it up!

A close-up of a bumblebee on the spiky orange center of a pink coneflower, with blurred green foliage and more flowers in the background.

Decrease Stress Levels

Gardening has been known to boost moods while decreasing stress levels.  It has also been shown to decrease depression.

A yellow flower in sharp focus stands out in a sunlit meadow, surrounded by blurred wildflowers and greenery, with sunlight streaming through the trees in the background.

Boost Your Immune System

Friendly soil bacteria, whether inhaled or ingested, has been found to alleviate allergies and asthma while decreasing anxiety, which also helps foster a healthy immune system.

Clusters of cherry tomatoes in various stages of ripeness, from green to red, grow on leafy branches against a blurred background.

Grow Healthy/Safe Food 

You’ll know exactly what’s in your food when you grow and harvest it yourself!

Close-up of purple bugleweed flowers with dark green and burgundy leaves, showing delicate petals and fine white hairs. The background is softly blurred greenery and soil.

Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Gardening is a wonderful way to express yourself.  Try something new each season.  You are only limited by your imagination!

Close-up of green grass stems with tiny seeds and orange tips, set against a blurred grassy background and trees under a bright sky.

Enhance Emotional/Spiritual Well Being

Gardens can serve as tranquil retreats.  Many find the act of gardening to be therapeutic.  It can also help boost self-esteem and confidence.

Close-up of wild prairie smoke flowers with pinkish-red stems and feathery seed heads, set against a blurred green garden background.

Challenge Your Brain

In addition to exercising the body, gardening can help keep your brain nimble.  Learn how to garden through trial and error, keep a journal, pick up a book, and feed your brain.

A garden filled with blooming white roses surrounded by green leaves, with shrubs in the background.

Gardens are a feast for the senses, and their aesthetic appeal is undeniable.  You needn’t a large space, or a ton of money – just the drive to reconnect with nature, and in doing so, your health and well being will benefit as well.  Reach out to Sweeney’s, and we’ll help get you started!

Plant of the Week

Close-up of a vibrant purple clematis flower with five petals and a yellow, spiky center, set against green leaves and bamboo garden supports in the background.

Happy Jack® Purple Clematis

Large, intense velvety plum-purple flowers with yellow stamens bloom mid-Summer to early-Fall.  Prefers sun to partial shade, and moist, well-drained soil.  Grows 6-8′ tall and 3-4′ wide.  Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.

“The glory of gardening;  hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature.  To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.”

-Alfred Austin

Well wishes,

Kim Sweeney