People often praise the health benefits of having their own garden. Studies have shown that garden plants reduce stress. Just looking at pictures of gardens for five minutes can lower blood pressure and ease muscle tension. Respiration slows and there is a marked increase of positive feelings. These changes to the body help to boost the immune system.
Gardening is also a good form of exercise. For many people, going to the gym is a boring grind and not everyone is equipped to play sports. Gardening on the other hand is a fun way to keep in shape while giving a person a sense of accomplishment.
Gardens have been proven to be helpful in improving mental health. People who have recently lost a loved one might want to plant a tree or flowers in memory of the deceased. Caring for the plants can help the grief-stricken to overcome the pain of their loss. Gardening also helps fight depression. Doctors are ditching the prescriptions in favor of a new technique called "garden therapy."
Of course, not everyone has a back yard in which to grow a garden. People that live in apartments or other dwellings which have no yards can create container gardens. Container gardens can be made from hanging baskets, planters, old watering pots, window boxes and unconventional containers such as old purses.
Container gardens add visual interest to any room and provide focal points that grab the viewer's attention. They can be used to screen unsightly areas or brighten up a drab space. Container gardening can be used to grow a variety of plants. Some of the plants that thrive in container gardens are flowers like begonias, geraniums and marigolds. For the more practical gardener, they might enjoy growing plants like beans, carrots and tomato plants. Some people even grow their own herbs to use in cooking.
Hanging gardens use items like a trellis or long pole and are another way to add more plants to the garden without sacrificing space. Vine plants like ivy, morning glory, cypress and sweet peas can be grown up instead of out. Hanging gardens can also be made from pieces of lattice, plastic shoe holders and other wall hangings. The plant vines can be arranged artfully along the walls to add a bit of flair and style to the room.
Water or aquatic gardens are another type of container gardening. Aquatic gardens give budding gardeners a chance to play with some beautiful and unusual plants. There are floating plants, submerged plants and emerging plants. The plants can be grown in counter fountains, pottery filled with water or even fish tanks. A person considering a water garden should have plenty of fun experimenting.
Bonsai gardening is another great an indoor garden. There are many types of bonsai trees. The Chinese elm looks just like an elm tree in miniature. The Chrysanthemum bonsai is miniature flowering tree. The bright blooms make this tree very popular in western culture. The Bougainvillea bonsai sports delightful pink flowers. Caring for this tree may be a challenge but most people feel that the rewards are worth the effort. Every person prunes the bonsai trees in a different way, giving each garden its own unique and artistic style.
People grow garden plants for health reasons, practical purposes or simply for fun. There are as many garden styles as there are people. A garden is an expression of genuine creativity and an act of love.
Copyright (c) 2012 Poppy Lynch
