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Horticulture therapy isn’t just the latest fad to reduce stress, it’s a time-honored tradition that’s been used since ancient times. But first thing’s first: What is horticulture? Quite simply, it’s a fancy way of saying gardening, or spending time in a garden to cultivate plant or flower growth. And spending time in the soil has been shown to help people learn new skills or sharpen old skills that have dulled over time. So, let’s get our hands dirty and dig into some more of the specifics.

Specifically, horticultural therapy is effective in improving cognitive abilities like memory loss, language skills and even socialization. But the benefits don’t stop there. Physical perks like coordination, balance, endurance and muscle strengthening also exist amongst the petunias and azaleas. And when it comes to vocational skills, gardening can also teach problem solving, following directions and working independently. In essence, gardening is a great way to keep your mind and body firing on all cylinders.

As the age of COVID-19 keeps most of us at home, spending more time outside in the garden can go a long way to help us feel better. And as studies show, there is no cap on the amount of physical benefits that can come for horticulture. For example, growing your own food can cause even higher levels of happiness. Spending an hour a day in the garden can improve sleep quality. And when you add all these benefits up, healing by nature can be a very
powerful tool.

With winter around the corner, the time to soak up these amazing benefits in the garden is winding down. So, if you’re looking for a natural way to feel better before the frost hits, get outside and get your hands in the soil. Even something as simple as weeding or clearing out a garden bed before the snow falls can go a long way to making us happy. And in these times of uncertainty, it’s important to take every advantage we can. Happy gardening.