Green Is Good

The surprising health benefits of gardening

- Charlotte Hilton Andersen

Gardening offers a lot more than fresh vegetables and flowers. Working in a nice outdoor space can boost your immune system, help you stay fit and sharpen your brain—and that’s just for starters. There are plenty more advantages for mind, body and soul.

It’s a fun workout Do you find the idea of puttering around in a garden a bit dull? If so, knowing the good it’s doing you physically might make it more entertaining. Planting seeds, pulling up weeds, carrying bags of mulch, moving pots, pushing a lawnmower and other gardening tasks actually provide a whole-body, moderate-intensity workout for adults over 65 years old, suggests a 2014 paper from the American Society for Horticultural Science. Even better, it’s activity with a purpose—one that might keep you in motion longer than traditional exercise.

It sharpens your mind