What if there was one single activity that could reduce stress, increase your fitness level, encourage proper nutrition, increase your social skills and boost your self-esteem? There is such an activity and it is as near as your backyard. Gardening has been proven to provide a vast array of physical and mental benefits. And it’s fun!

Many people find working out in a gym to be tedious, time-consuming and boring. Gardening, on the other hand, coaxes our winter-weary bodies out into the fresh air and sunshine where we are surrounded by the beauty and wonder that only Mother Nature can provide. Gardening connects us to nature and provides us with fresh fruits and vegetables and the encouragement to eat them.

In addition, it provides improved flexibility, stronger muscles and better cardio fitness. The regular physical exercise associated with gardening has been shown to help prevent heart disease, obesity, adult-onset diabetes and high blood pressure. The physical acts involved in planting and maintaining a garden work all major muscle groups. Bending to pull weeds, getting up and down from the ground, lifting equipment, hauling compost and fertilizers, and digging all are regular gardening activities. Combined, they work the arms, the legs and the core muscles.

Economically speaking, gardening is within everybody’s reach. Growing your own vegetables is very inexpensive because all you need are soil, seeds and a few basic tools.

Gardening is the perfect activity to share with your children and grandchildren because it teaches them respect for Mother Nature and it helps them understand the importance of caring for the environment. Children of all ages can learn valuable lessons by planting seeds and watching them grow.

If you are gardening with kids, consider the following:

• Make sure you keep their area of the garden small and manageable. Window boxes, recycled milk cartons and small wooden pots are excellent for kids to use to plant seeds and watch them grow.

• If your child expresses an interest in gardening, consider buying child-size gardening tools to help make them feel like the garden really belongs to them.

• Use the gardening experience as a chance to help kids explore other aspects of Mother Nature, like learning about the birds and butterflies that are frequent visitors to the garden.

• Choose garden chores that are age appropriate. Younger kids can help water with a small watering can, but might not have the strength or stamina to carry the hose around. Assign weeding chores to older kids that can tell the difference between a weed and a plant.

• Keep a garden journal. Children can journal their thoughts on the garden. Encourage kids to be creative with their garden journals. You can keep a garden journal, and add notes about what the kids like and don't like to plan for the next garden.

Yours in good health,

Sheila McCormick
Editor, IVL Health Watch

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