My Gardening Philosophy (or why I enjoy gardening part 2)

It is now a well acknowledged fact that people like to be outside. For me this might be on the golf course or more usually in the garden. This is, of course, related to a connection with the land (or if you prefer, connecting with nature) but for me it is more simple, I get pleasure from just being outside. Being indoors can feel restrictive and irrespective of the weather, I do like to be outdoors. Getting a breath of fresh air is invigorating. Doing the gardening when you are wrapped up against the cold or protected by your second best waterproofs or even gardening in the nice sunshine of a balmy summers day is just wonderful.

According to Simon Worrall in a recent National Geographic article (February 2017) neuroscientists, especially in the U.K. and U.S., are starting to look at how people’s brains respond to different environments. What they’re seeing is that if their volunteers are walking through a city or noisy area, their brains are doing different things than if they are walking in a park [or in your garden]. The frontal lobe, the part of our brain that’s hyper-engaged in modern life, deactivates a little when you are outside. Alpha waves, which indicate a calm but alert state, grow stronger. Buddhist monks, meditators, are also great at engaging alpha waves.

Worrall continues "The Romantic poets emerged during the dawn of industrialization. They saw tremendous benefits to being in places that weren’t crowded or dirty, that were more pastoral, like the Alps. The alpine tour took off in the late 18th century to early 19th century. What was unique about it was that it wasn’t about finding peace in God or finding religion. It was about this more immediate connection to nature and how that spurred our spiritual imaginations, how being in more rural, natural environments made us whole as people."

Being outside is good reason itself for taking up gardening, it gets me out and if we let the weather put us off, to quote a greater thinker than me,

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather". John Ruskin

I am sure this is why I enjoy all the seasons and why climate and weather features so regularly on this blog. Getting fresh air is a good reason to get outside even if the jobs are nearly all complete and the weather a little inclement.  One final quote from an esteemed ex colleague and keen gardener "there is nothing better than a cup of tea outside" Adam P.

Go outside and get some fresh air
good advice for us all