The healing power of gardening

Rosalind Sack discovers the therapeutic benefits of gardening and meets two horticultural organisations making a major difference to people’s lives across Berkshire

- Rosalind Sack

Life under lockdown has turned us into a nation of gardeners with huge numbers finding solace in growing. Whether ours is a bountiful plot or simply a sunny windowsill, the pure act of digging, growing, nurturing and harvesting has been found to be incredibly beneficial, particularly during such an unsettling period.

When you consider that gardening has been proven to have huge benefits to our physical and mental health it’s little wonder that we’re turning to so called ‘green therapy’ in our droves.

Samantha Luff from Cookham was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at the beginning of the year and has since found that gardening has had a positive impact on her health. What was an area of patio and lawn with a small shed has been transformed by Sam to include a pond, bug hotel, nature area, flower beds, a fruit and vegetable growing trough, as well as a mud kitchen and play area for her two children.

“The garden will always give me what I need. I can be busy doing lots of jobs around the garden or I can sit and enjoy the stillness that the outdoors allows. There are no expectations to be anyone, to do anything, it will simply allow me to be. It brings me much-needed perspective, a sense of achievement and it helps to improve my self-esteem and sense of purpose. I think the overriding feeling it brings is simply joy,” says Sam.

“Throughout lockdown the garden has felt like an anchor. The garden rewards me for the work I put in and gives me an opportunity to learn and develop. Being in my own head can be an incredibly noisy place to be and the garden helps to quieten the noise. Gardening has taught me to slow down and to appreciate that sometimes the most beautiful things take time to flourish.”