All you need to know about Community Garden
Getting outside is a healthful activity, and tending a garden can actually improve the emotional, physical, and mental well-being of those who are 55+. Health benefits aside, it’s fun! If you have access to a community garden, it’s a great place to hang out outside, for many reasons. Let’s take a look at a few benefits of a community garden.
- It’s good exercise. It’s recommended that people of all ages work some physical activity into their daily routines. Gardening provides plenty of this, as you lift, carry, bend, rake, and more, all of which can help you stay strong and flexible. If you have a limited range of motion, look for a community garden with raised gardens, accessible trails, benches, and work tables at wheelchair height.
- It helps you maintain fine motor skills. Working with tools, planting, pruning, and tending a garden are all good activities for improving hand-eye coordination and improving your small motor skills.
- Gardening offers a cognitive boost. To successfully grow a garden, you need to plan your plant placement, choose tools, seeds, and supplements, and remember what to water or fertilize and when. Learning plant and flower names, along with gathering information about plant care are all good for strengthening your memory.
- Spending time in the garden alleviates stress and anxiety. It’s relaxing to spend time in a beautiful, peaceful green space, and when you’re concentrating on tending your garden, you aren’t thinking about aches, pains, or worries. Surrounded by beauty, nurturing that beautiful space will help to calm and relax you.
- Growing things provides a sense of accomplishment. When you get to pick your own tomatoes or see your flowers bloom, it will give you a feeling of ownership and satisfaction. Getting to enjoy the literal fruits of your labor is extremely rewarding.
- You’re likely to meet new friends in the community garden. Connecting to the land while you connect with each other, and working on a common goal, can be a bonding experience. What’s more, your little plot in the garden is likely to produce more than you can consume, and you will be able to share healthy food with others in your community.
- Anyone can pick up gardening. It’s an easy hobby, and even beginners can manage it. Often, a community garden will be managed by an experienced gardener who can teach newcomers the ins and outs of garden projects.
- Fresh air and sunshine are good for you. Exposure to nature has been shown to improve psychological well-being, lower blood pressure, and slow heart rate. Even if you just go to the garden to sit, and you never plant a flower or vegetable, you’ll improve your quality of life.
- Gardening stimulates your senses. Tending plants stimulates the sense of touch, hearing, vision, and smell, all in one visit to the garden. This sensory stimulation is good for boosting cognitive function and reinforcing past memories.
When you’re ready to find a luxurious active adult community where your health and well-being is prioritized, consider Larkspur at Creekside. A family-owned and managed 55-plus community, we offer resort-style apartments and cottages in New Braunfels, Texas, with an emphasis on active living. We give our residents the chance to transition from the responsibilities and burdens of home ownership to a lifestyle of convenience and luxury, full of new friends, new activities, and new adventures. To learn more about life at Larkspur at Creekside, call 830-625-2277, or contact us through our website.