Gardening is one of the great pleasures of my life and has been for many years, but as I am moving though my Meno journey it has given me more than I was expecting and connections and community that I didn’t realise were right on my doorstep!
Gardening can take many forms. You may be someone that lives in a small space and only has pots to grow in. You could have a small to medium space and use every inch of it, or you could have a large space that you work through in sections or have managed professionally by others. The other thing is you may not be a gardener at all or may not know where to start. Whatever your garden size and however it starts, and even if you are yet to start, a garden can be a sanctuary for you and others and research shows simply having access to a garden, including public parks or a balcony – has a significant positive impact on stress.
For me the fascination of gardening first started with my mother’s fuchsias in the back garden. One of the earliest memories I have is plucking a fuchsia from the bush and my sister and I using it to make cheek blush and lip colour. Another memory is walking around our suburb with my great grandmother, who would point out and name all the plants and pick geraniums and other flowers to take home in a posy. As I got older, I was incredibly blessed to learn more about gardening from my mother-in-law. When I first went to meet her, I was blown away at her spectacular garden and the exotic plants that she had cultivated over many years. Living in Gawler, South Australia since the mid-60s, she had ordered seeds via post from around the world and knew how to strike almost any plant from a cutting; her favourite saying, ‘it’s a good outing, when you come home with a cutting!’. My husband is also an avid gardener and has a naturally green thumb!
When I was really struggling with my Meno symptoms I stopped going out and it would be fair to say, I became anti-social. I was avoiding catch ups with my mates for a range of reasons, alcohol, lack of sleep, feeling bloated, being in pain and mentally depressed; so leaving the house was not really on the cards, but I am human, and we all need to socialise. My husband, sensing my need to do something, suggested that we start a community veggie garden in the front yard of an abandoned house on our street. Sure, I said! This house has been abandoned for about 14 years. The historic couch grass was over a foot high, and the root mat underneath was the same again. Anyway, over several weekends of back breaking mattock work I got the whole lot out. While I was doing this Lyn up the street, who does not speak English, came down and with a few hand gestures quickly got involved. The couch kept reshooting, but Lyn was a master at getting every last root from the soil. Next my immediate neighbour, who’s husband lent me the mattock started helping and at the same time also suggested that I get involved in the local gardening club. Before I knew it, we were all doing a little bit of gardening in this space every day. Then the neighbour across the street was involved and another couple from down the lane. Before I knew it, we were all buying seedlings and seeds and planting out our spring garden. It was wonderful. We are now in our second year.
Then the local gardening group became a thing for me too. I was so nervous the first time I joined in, because despite living in the same house for 23 years, I felt like I wouldn’t know anyone. The gardening group is for anyone living in the local area and beyond, who would like to be involved with growing beautiful habitats for bees, birds and butterflies and building a friendly and inclusive community in the local area. We have planted out sections of service roads, created new gardens in the street, as well as maintaining and upgrading existing gardens with new plantings, weeding, mulching, and pruning. We generally get together about once a month or so and we always have a cuppa and share some snacks and a chat after.
As we know alongside medical support, there are many ways to support your wellbeing throughout your Meno journey and gardening is one of the most discreetly beneficial things you can do. Gardening for therapy has actually been used for thousands of years and was most famously supported by Florence Nightingale, who noted improvements in patients that had access to gardens, so let’s channel our inner Florence and get our hands in the soil…. here are some positive reasons for you to start gardening during Meno………
Building networks and community
I have a garden at home and have helped many friends and relatives over the years, however it wasn’t until I started regular gardening with others that I realised how good it was to make new friends and connections. I now know most people in my area, as we have all gardened together at one time or another. We see each other in different places and say hello. It has been a fabulous way to connect with many other women who all seem to be similar age and who are easy to talk to. We share not just gardening tips, advice, and cuttings, but health advice and stories along the way.
If you have time, there are programs and groups where you can volunteer to help older people in who cannot manage their gardens any longer. Because I have always gardened and have created much of my garden from cuttings you end up talking to older people, who have plants that you can’t purchase in shops. Their knowledge is awesome and so not only can, you learn, you both benefit from the social interaction and shared interest.
Being in nature and getting vitamin D
As we know the sun is the most effective way to build up vitamin D levels. This is a very powerful vitamin that can impact every part of your body and has been said to improve type 2 diabetes, heart disease, bone health, gastrointestinal inflammation, depression, anxiety, body pain and even lower blood pressure. All these things need attention during Meno.
Simply being outside and in nature is good for you, so if you are not gardening just being outside in a garden, and getting some vitamin D, is going to do you good!
Low impact exercise
Gardening is a fabulous low impact exercise, or it can be high impact. It really can take any form you like and the best thing about a garden is that you can do as much or as little as you like. You can start and stop, and it will always be there when you are ready to return, there is no pressure in gardening, however you do it, you will be using energy and toning your body.
While in your garden and you are performing tasks such as pruning, digging, watering, mowing, weeding, sweeping paths or training plants on a structure; you are constantly building your strength and dexterity. You are doing lunges and squats and weightlifting, without setting foot in a gym, as well as flexing your mind to focus. It is recommended that weight bearing exercises are undertaken regularly to assist in preventing osteoporosis during Meno, and regular gardening certainly helps.
Decrease stress and anxiety.
Being in nature has many benefits and you can read much more about that in the journal on walking and being in nature, but on a smaller scale to your garden adventures, your body releases serotonin and endorphins, the happy hormones while you are there, promoting mental wellbeing.
Gardening is said to have the same impact as a good meditation session, making you feel a sense of ease and calm. Because you need to focus on what you are doing, gardening is brilliant for mindfulness and practicing just being present in the moment, enjoying the space you are in, the task you are performing, the bees buzzing, or magpies singing. Connecting with nature through your garden will improve your stress levels, mood, anxiety and relive depression symptoms, further being in a green environment will alleviate stress and worry every time, so if this is how you are feeling, you can immerse yourself in a garden, and its healing power will sooth any internal commotion!
Improve cognitive function and build neuroplasticity.
While you are gardening you could lower the risk of the onset of dementia by up to 35%, because you are boosting cognitive function. You are developing new skills, staying curious and evolving your knowledge of the botanical world, seasons, insects, and many other things, which improves your neuroplasticity.
Having a regular gardening hobby is important for having a sense of purpose and structure in your life, especially if you have recently experienced changes in your relationship, with your children leaving the nest or are simply experiencing anxiety and depression because of Meno. Simply knowing that your garden might need a drink could be enough to get you out of bed in the morning.
Creating and cultivating a garden should also be a sense of pride and personal satisfaction. You created something, from a seed, or a cutting, you nurtured it to achieve a flower, fruit, or a particular shape. You may have done it with others and can collectively appreciate the beauty you have created together. Gargens take time and care and can be enjoyed on your own and hopefully with many others.
Improves Diet
If you can, growing your own food has a positive impact on both your mind, because you grew it yourself, but equally your diet, because you know exactly what has been used to make the thing you are eating and you are more likely to eat healthy when you invest in growing your own food.
You actually do not need a big space you grow your own food, simply growing herbs is a great way to contribute to your own food supply chain. My husband and I have an almost year-round mint supply, so make regular Moroccan inspired mint teas. After running out of basil last year, I now have any spare spot filled with a basil plant, so I have a constant supply for pesto. Thyme, rosemary, parsley, and coriander are also a constant in my home herb supply. Green improves your overall health, so it is good to eat lots of it as well as surround yourself with it.
We have cultivated over several years asparagus and just eat it straight out of the garden when it pops up. We have spinach, kale, broccoli, radishes, beetroots, tomatoes (at the right time), lemons, mulberries, cabbage, strawberries, snow and sweet peas and various other things. All planted by the season. I do find growing my own food and learning how to preserve it has improved my gut health and it is said to also improve your immune system, energy levels, increase things like calcium and other minerals that your body needs to function and just generally improve your mental health.
Growing your own food improves your food literacy and in doing so studies have shown that because you are more inclined to make healthy food choices, you are more likely to maintain a healthy body weight, a plus for Meno weight gain drawbacks.
A Garden at Your Doorstep
There are many, many studies that show you don’t need to be gardening to get the benefits of nature. If you are simply not a gardener that is fine too, you can still get the benefits of a garden just by being in one or having a picture of one to look at. Surrounding yourself with a green space when you are looking for growth, regeneration or simply restoration, you will find it calms your mind and helps you take fuller deeper breaths.
If this is you, visit your botanical garden, local park, or any public green space that you can access and simply spend some time there. The other thing that is recommended is to try doing things you would normally do inside, in an outside space. So, try having a meal outside, or your morning coffee/ tea there.
In summary……
I have been a gardener for a long time and have been interested in plants and nature for even longer. The Meno has helped me to see gardening in a new way. When I struggled to get out and exercise the way I used to, I could garden. When I didn’t want to socialize in a night club or bar, I could socialise in a garden. When I struggled with my gut health, my husband made mint tea from our garden. When I just wanted to be, I pulled out my banana lounge and read a book in the garden in a nice sunny spot. While gardens are made up of several colours the general predominant colour is green. Because green incorporates some of the energy of yellow, it is a particularly good colour for balancing and harmonizing and will bring you back to a sense of stability. So, gardens really are the all-round health tonic, and it doesn’t matter if you garden yourself or just enjoy someone else’s, get into the green and you will feel fabulous, confident, a sense of belonging and overall calm.
