Saturday 29 January 2011

Good for mind, body and wallet.

I’ve been banging on for years at how great gardening is. My friends groan at me sometimes. A few people listen, most don’t I guess. It’s the plus points that people miss that saddens me. Ok, so we get pretty flowers and provide habitat for wildlife in a concrete suburbia. We grow our own fruit and vegetables and have a great outdoor entertainment area. But what else you ask?

We all seem to either love or hate gardening. But the bonus plus points to it are missed, even by the ones that love it.

All winter, echoes of “I’m so cold” and “I need to get to the gym” ring alongside “I’m skint” and ”gas bills gone up again”. Well, gardening answers some of it! Ten minutes digging a vegetable patch, in even the coldest of temperatures, will have you peeling off those layers of clothing due to the unbearable heat your body is generating. Then, when you get back into the house, the last thing you will want is the heating on! You will be glowing like a beacon and happy to sit and cool off.

So here we have my big missed plus to gardening. You just prepared some ground ready for growing vegetables, with just pence invested in seed. The pounds you will save in grocery shopping eh? You have less demand on your central heating as you get used to ‘real cold’ and are happy to have the house a few degrees lower. Gym membership becomes something your friends waste their money on trying to get ‘abs’, and your digging generated leaner physique.

So there we have it. Gardening can bless us with lower grocery bills, a healthier lifestyle, and a much fatter wallet. Not to mention the eco benefit of the ‘lower carbon footprint’ thingy due to saving food miles and gas energy.

I have had this on my mind for weeks now. It’s not my imagination running away with me. It’s a fact that I just wanted to put across to make a point. So many people miss understand the ways gardening can have a positive effect on life. Not to mention the pride it gives. Gardening, good for mind, body and wallet!!!

1 comment:

  1. Please blog more Karl, this is great!

    Agree about the cold. Wish people would go out and *enjoy* the weather, whatever state it is. Hating 'bad' weather is just a mindset IMHO.

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