For the last 5 years of my life, up until recently, I have lived in small houses in the suburbs of Melbourne. These have ranged from 2-bedroom apartments in multi-apartment complexes, to stand-alone townhouses with a small backyard. Regardless of what the style of living is, one thing remains the same in that I have always managed to plant something of a garden. Not only does this reduce my environmental impact by buying less produce, and having less waste (i.e by composting all food scraps and using this for mulch/fertiliser) but it also has become a pass-time that relaxes and gives me a sense of peace.
There is wellbeing inherent in maintaining a garden. There are many possible reasons for this, particularly that being outside creates peace and healthfulness that is not replicable by indoor activities. The sceptics among us (myself included) may also argue a human need for control over something in order to sustain an internal balance. Maintaining control or order, even in a small way, can bring peace to an otherwise discordant lifestyle. This doesn’t need to be a negative thing and indeed with gardening can have many positive outcomes that extend beyond the self. I realised this when I lived in the bustling city of Melbourne, for there is often little time to relax when there is so much activity around you. Gardening forces a slower pace in which to stop, appreciate your surroundings, and reset.
Gardening has shown numerous positive benefits on dietary knowledge, consumption of fruits and vegetables, environmental awareness and social relationships (particularly in the case of community gardens). There are scientific reviews and reports that document this, but I think anybody who has spent an amount of time in a garden can tell you that the positive impact on mental health is perceptible. It’s important to note here, that I am not talking about improvement of mental illness, but of mental health or mental happiness. This relates to, emotional wellbeing, satisfaction and increasing social capital.
In my current garden, I am also trying to increase my positive environmental impact by using no chemicals or pesticides and recycling materials I find around the farm. This means I am also trying my hand at companion planting. That is, using plants that have symbiotic traits that discourage pests or disease (such as tomatoes and merrigolds). I’ll detail my success and failure later in the blog. I’ve included some images of my garden in it’s current stage and will elaborate on certain aspects of it in later posts. The take home message from this post is: try to maintain a small garden, it’s quite simple and the mental and social benefit far outweighs the effort you’ll put in.
References:
Carrie Draper & Darcy Freedman (2010) Review and Analysis of the Benefits, Purposes, and Motivations Associated with Community Gardening in the United States, Journal of Community Practice, 18:4, 458-492, DOI: 10.1080/10705422.2010.519682
positivesacrifice 