Lately I’ve been noticing something interesting. It’s not groundbreaking - in fact it’s an idea that’s as old as the hills, but it’s having a huge impact on my day to day. It’s this: for me, often the difference between a good day and a bad day is whether or not I spent time in my garden.

Case in point, the other day I was under the pump at work, I’d barely slept the night before because the kids had the flu. I was so overwhelmed and frazzled I could have screamed. I got up, walked outside, did a lap of the garden and plonked myself on a bench.

In a few short moments, my whirring thoughts began to slow. I was able to notice the changing autumn colours. I watch a bird land briefly on the grass, collect a worm and take flight. Bit by bit, I was breathing in time with nature. My shoulders dropped, my gaze softened and I started to feel okay. Calm. Like I could tackle the rest of the day.

This is a phenomenon we all innately understand – “nature heals”. No matter how disconnected we are from nature, we all feel it on some cellular level. Even your most chronically online friends will tell you to “touch grass.”

This is not just a feeling but is backed by science. The Biophilic Hypothesis coined by E.O Wilson in 1984 talks about the biological connection we feel to nature. The idea suggests that our mental, physical and social wellbeing is intrinsically linked to our ongoing relationship with nature.

So how can you leverage the therapeutic benefits of being in nature, even from your inner-city apartment?

Enter Therapeutic Gardening.

Therapeutic gardening, or therapeutic horticulture, is the practise of using gardening activities like growing, watering, weeding, and caring for plants to support mental health and wellbeing goals.

It can be as simple as:

• Growing herbs on a windowsill

• Caring for an indoor plant

• Growing and tending a vegetable patch

• Sitting out in a garden, enjoying a sense of peace.

Therapeutic gardening focuses less on what is aesthetic and focuses more on how a space makes you feel, how repetitive tasks quieten your mind and the act of watching something you planted grow, also grows your confidence and self-esteem.

Why Gardening feels good

1. Humans are wired for nature

The Biophilic Hypothesis suggests that humans are hardwired for a connection with nature and other living things. We evolved in a natural landscape and to survive, we developed the ability to recognise habitats, environmental elements, like rain coming, and food sources. This gives us an innate preference for natural rather than artificial environments.

2. Gardening creates relaxation through repetition

Repetitive tasks like pulling out weeds, picking herbal leaves for a tea, pruning, harvesting or dead heading allow our minds to quiet. When you engage in a task that doesn’t require conscious thought, your mind is able to switch from conscious to subconscious thought. It is in this thought space that you’re able to achieve a flow state.

3. Plants provide visual progress

Gardening offers visual feedback that helps to combat your impulse to always see the negative in things. The plant is bigger, it has flowers. You grew that. You tended that and you can’t be negative about that. This releases a flood of dopamine to your receptors, improving your mood.

The benefits of therapeutic gardening

Mental Benefits

Reduces stress

It’s hard to be worried when you’re focus is fully absorbed in tending something. There’s an idea in psychology about a “helper’s high.” Humans get a rush of feel-good hormones when they can see that what they have done is of benefit to someone or something else.

Lowers anxiety

Much like the above, to focus your attention of a task completely means that you can release your concerns about the future and just be in the garden. When I say garden, it might be a single pot plant, but the point remains. When you are focused solely on a task, particularly a repetitive one, you brain has little room for anything else.

Improves mood

There are bacteria in soil, called Mycobacterium vaccae, which causes your brain to release serotonin, giving you a boost of happiness. In our bubble wrapped and germophobic society, it might be clearer to see why the rates of depression are skyrocketing.

Supports emotional regulation

Gardening promotes patience building. There isn’t much in growing plants that doesn’t require you to wait. In the process of waiting. In developing patience, you must be able to regulate your emotions. Because you’re practicing this with gardening, you can use that skill with other things.

Physical benefits

There are so many amazing benefits for your body when you garden. In the same way that slow exercise forms like tai chi and qi gong support your body, enhance your mobility and allow you to develop strength. Physical benefits include:

• Gentle movement

• Sunlight exposure

• Improved sleep

• Reduced screen time

Emotional benefits

If what I’ve stated already wasn’t enough to convince you of the emotional benefits of gardening, some additional emotional benefits include:

• Confidence though care

• Sense of achievement

• Routine and purpose

• Grief support

• Reconnection to self

Social benefits

For those lucky enough to garden with others, there is strong research for the social benefits of gardening, particularly for those who would usually be on their own, including the elderly, socially isolated, victims of domestic violence and those with a disability. These include:

• Community connection

• Family connection

• Reduced loneliness

Therapeutic gardening vs Horticultural therapy

Therapeutic gardening is the act of gardening for your wellbeing. It is something you can do for yourself, with others or in a formal workshop setting if you so desire but it’s by no means necessary.

Horticultural therapy is a more formal therapeutic practice where trained professionals use gardening activities to support mental health outcomes. While Australia doesn’t currently have a standardised qualification pathway, the field is growing internationally alongside disciplines like art and music therapy.

How to start as a beginner

If you’re eager to get cracking but don’t know where to start, here is a quick guide to help you get going with a sensory journey in your garden

1. Start small

There is no need to revamp your whole space to cater to your newfound passion. A single plant in a pot on a windowsill is a great first step. Take care not to overcommit and scare yourself out of enjoying gardening. One pot will still have immense benefits for your mental health.

2. Choose easy plants

Whilst you take a hot minute to recalibrate your connection to the natural world, choose plants that can be forgotten about here and there. We all have busy lives and things get in the way. There is nothing more demoralising than buying a beautiful plant, only to turn around a week later to brown leaves and dry soil.

3. Focus on experience not perfection

Like anything else, the experience of an activity is much more important than the end product. It’s a common misconception that green thumbs never kill anything. It’s simply not true. They just don’t worry, and plant something else. They focus on the experience of gardening, not what lives or doesn’t.

4. Create tiny daily rituals

Start to work your new plant friend into morning rituals. Use a lemon balm as an addition to your cup of tea in the morning, take a minute each night before bed to rub a leaf or 20 of your lavender plant and enjoy its aroma. Remember to slow down and enjoy it.

5. Notice what changes for you

Use a journal or other note taking device to jot down some information about what has changed over your time of owning a plant. Have your stress levels decreased? Do you generally feel happier? Have you noticed you feel less frazzled at the end of the day? Allow your practice of noticing to grow.