In my experience, people who garden tend to be optimistic individuals. I had always put this down to the fact that gardening is, essentially, about looking forward. Each seed we sow is an investment in the future, a symbol of hope to be realised if and when that seed grows into a beautiful, healthy plant. Gardening also of course provides us with physical exercise, but it dictates the pace. It […]
Tomorrow marks the start of National Vegetarian Week, and this year the theme is “sharing”. If you normally eat meat, why not use the opportunity to try going a week without it? If you make the effort to look up and cook some decent vegetarian meals during the coming days you may be pleasantly surprised by the rich variety of flavours and textures which vegetarian cuisine can offer. Ethical considerations […]
Several research projects in recent years have confirmed the positive effects of gardening as a mental health intervention, particularly in cases involving anxiety and depression. This makes sense: we gardeners plant and sow seeds, often in cold and unpromising conditions, in the hope and expectation that good things will grow from them. We are optimists, either by nature or through experience. Gardening encourages us to adapt to a different pace […]