The Restorative Power of Gardens
This post is all about the compelling reasons why you should grow an indoor garden, as well as the many health benefits of indoor gardening and a few examples of indoor garden types.
The term garden comes from the persian word for paradise and is something I wholeheartedly agree with.
For me, having a garden has meant having a place of great satisfaction, peace, and solitude. This is true for many people… gardens are representative of ‘paradise on earth’ and provide an opportunity to own a little bit of heaven – here and now.
Gardens, like nature in general, have restorative powers and can be very healing because we intuitively know that these spaces provide us with a place of sanctuary and promote wellbeing.
According to the World Health Organization, stress is the health epidemic of the 21st century and accounts for around 70% of all family doctor visits. That’s where gardens come to the rescue!
Gardens have the potential to provide a place of refuge from stress and have the ability to provide us over-stressed and over-worked humans with a place of healing and peace.
Having restorative spaces such as gardens, green space, or simply a favorite spot in nature to go to, becomes pivotal as more and more people succumb to this dis-ease of ‘modern-day life.’
You can get the same stress-reducing benefits by deciding to grow an indoor garden for your home. Getting started is simple. You can start with a few pots of herbs on your kitchen windowsill, a sunroom dedicated to plants, or just a few potted plants placed throughout your home. What really matters is the energy and dimension, not to mention the improved air quality that plants add to your living environment.
Reasons to Grow an Indoor Garden
There is something restorative about caring for plants and being part of their growth. Whether watering, repotting, or simply admiring them, these simple acts can help to reconnect us on a deep level with nature and can inspire an overwhelming sense of awe about this miracle of life of which we are an important part.
As we tend these plants and take part in their care and growth we become attuned with the cyclical nature of the gardens we nurture, time stands still, and we strengthen our relationship to the earth, and to the spiritual center of ourselves. It’s a beautiful thing.
Aside from their stress-reducing and restorative abilities, there are many other reasons to grow an indoor garden.
10 Incredible Reasons:
- Indoor plants drastically improve the quality of the air you breathe. Plants have the unique ability to filter the air around us.
- Plants make our living spaces more inviting and welcoming.
- Living plants create feelings of calm and well-being.
- The act of starting seeds indoors and watching them germinate is a skill of self-sufficiency that provides us with a sense of accomplishment and is great for improving feelings of self-worth.
- Growing our own plants allows us to get a jump-start on our spring gardens and allows us access to many more varieties of plants not usually available from greenhouses or garden centers.
- Growing gardens promotes a healthier lifestyle by facilitating our ability to cook with fresh herbs all year round.
- Indoor gardening can be a teaching tool for young children by providing an opportunity for the healing aspects of gardening to become a life-long part of their lives.
- The indoor gardening of herbs can save you money over store-bought.
- Growing herbs and plants in your home also can be a source of food.
- By growing an indoor garden, you’re not ruled by the weather. You can tend your plants through rain, snow, heat, or cold, there are no limits.
Considerations:
- Purpose – What is the purpose of the garden? – is it for healing, meditation, growing herbs for cooking, or a project with the children?
- Space – What space considerations do you have? – a windowsill, sunroom, basement, living room corner?
- Characteristics – Do you want to create a specific type of garden with specific collections of plants such as succulents, cacti, ficus, orchids, herbs, or ferns?
- Features –do you want to include water features like fountains, or art, sentimental objects, wind chimes, aromatic and/or flowering plants, candles, and /or music.
- Light – is an important factor for indoor gardening. Be sure to place your plants where you have adequate light or purchase artificial lights.
Indoor Garden Examples
Indoor gardens can include anything from tabletop gardens, windowsill gardens, herb gardens, healing gardens, meditation gardens, container gardens, and water gardens, to name but a few. In other words, the indoor garden can be as simple or as sizable as you’d like or your space will allow.
1. A Grouped Collection
Use a small cluster of mid-sized plants, like the ones in this photo, to help take up awkward blank space. Their size allows them to make a bigger impact than a selection of small plants like succulents. Regular houseplants are also easier to care for than succulents yet are still easy to move around, unlike large indoor trees.
2. An Herb Garden
An herb garden is as lovely as it is practical. Not only do you get to enjoy the presence of plants in your life, but you get the added benefit of fresh herbs for use in your culinary endeavors. There’s nothing like cooking with fresh herbs!
3. Hanging Garden
Is space an issue? Then a hanging garden might be the solution for you. Hanging gardens can provide visual interest in your space, while at the same time, make use of otherwise unusable space.
4. Vertical Gardens
Vertical gardens are similar to hanging gardens in a way… they make good use of space if you are limited. They also can become the focal point of a room as in the photo below.
5. Meditation Gardens
Plants can help to create a relaxing space and set up, you’ve got the perfect spot for practicing meditation, mindfulness, rejuvenating yoga, or simply a place to find some peace.
As you can see, there is no end to the types of gardens you can create and they can be as simple, or complex as you desire.
One thing is for sure, this area of sanctuary within your home will bring you much joy and will no doubt help you to reconnect with your own sacredness and will go a long way in helping to reduce the feelings of stress that we all sometimes experience.
