The Health & Wellbeing Benefits of Gardening

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Why we love getting our hands dirty in the garden

Here at Feel Good HQ, we've long loved getting into our garden, whether it's for an afternoon of pruning or a full day of digging. It seems obvious to us that time spent in our garden or allotment is beneficial for our health and well-being but we wanted to dig a bit deeper into what the research says about the benefits of gardening and growing your own food.

The health benefits of gardening and growing your own food.

Natural remedies using herbs and plants are as old as time itself, we have been using them to treat ailments (some more successfully than others) for centuries and we continue to use herbal medicine today (St Johns Wort for example). But what about the actual effects of spending time in nature and gardening? can these help us too?

Well, the evidence suggests that yes, gardening is beneficial to our mental and physical health. In 2021 the RHS released research that sought to track the health benefits of gardeners, and the research showed a 6.6% increase in well-being for those that garden daily versus those who had never gardened at all!

Established health benefits of gardening;

  • Increasing physical activity can help with cardiovascular health and maintaining strength and agility.
  • Spending time outdoors in gardens or allotments can help calm and restore our stress levels
  • Growing food can give a deeper understanding of nutrient-dense food as well as the seasonality of foods.
  • Being able to eat food grown locally is an improvement on a diet with lots of processed food.
  • Gardening can be a social activity helping people who may otherwise feel isolated to feel connected to like-minded people.
  • Gardening can help feed creativity, helping to keep our minds active and our brains ticking aw

Gardening to bring the family together.

Spending time in the garden with children or grandchildren is a great way to help improve our relationships as well promote a healthy lifestyle for our younger generation.

Time outside is time spent moving which can feel increasingly hard to make children do, by spending time away from screens and phones we can help ease anxieties, stress and the worry that children increasingly seem to struggle with.

Children can also take great satisfaction in learning and then watching plants or food grow before their very eyes; by building this understanding about food and where it comes from we can help promote healthy habits and a positive mindset towards the outdoors.

Commit yourself to more gardening and see the benefits for yourselves.

Why not make 2023 the year to commit to more time outside, even if it is just ensuring a walk or time sitting in your garden? You don't have to wait for a bright sunny day (as much as it helps) but ensure regular time outside tending to your garden to try and maximise the health benefits.

At Feel Good we have developed a range of polytunnels and cold frames that enhance your ability as a gardener by helping to protect and create the right environment for your veggies to get growing. A good polytunnel can ensure your season starts well ahead of everyone else's and last much longer, perfect for maximising as many hours outdoors as possible.

See our polytunnels and cold frames here;

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Let customers speak for us

from 315 reviews

Very pleased with the replacement polytunnel cover

Dave Chick
4m Replacement Polytunnel Greenhouse Cover - Zip Door
4m Replacement Polytunnel Greenhouse Cover - Zip Door
Great

Very happy, delivered quickly would buy again.

Kath.
Hexagonal Bird Aviary - AV02 - Pre Order for October
Hexagonal Bird Aviary - AV02 - Pre Order for October
Bike cover

Very good service, item very good easy to erects and good quality thank s .

phillip Ball
Folding Trike Cover - BH03
Folding Trike Cover - BH03
Reliable, good value for money.

I was recommended by another plot holder to buy from Feel Good. This is the 5th year Ive had mine. Structure is fine and its well ventilated. Easy to erect, took us two hours. We did get help to put the cover on. Once its up and properly secured weve never had any problems even in high winds. We are due a new cover this next year.

C.
Large Polytunnel 6m x 3m
Large Polytunnel 6m x 3m
👍

Great hutch, easy to assemble and the bunnies seem to love it as more room to move around

Ally51
Double Rabbit Hutch
Double Rabbit Hutch
Trike cover very good service good quality product

Very good quick delivery will use again

peter laws
Trike Cover - Replacement Cover - BH03
Trike Cover - Replacement Cover - BH03
Excellent quality

Very well made for it's price, simple to assemble went together in less than a hour.

Valerie Sellen
Wooden Chicken Coop & Run - Chester
Wooden Chicken Coop & Run - Chester
Easy to errect and tight as a drum

Quick delivery of an excellent product. As this is my second polytunnel lessons learnt from the first made erection easy and tight as a drum. One addition I have made is Velcro’s the latch side of the doorway

Colin Thompson
Polytunnel 3m x 2m
Polytunnel 3m x 2m
Very pretty

Nicely done, easy to put together. Looks really good in my garden.

Marta
Small Sage Grey Wooden Kennel For Dogs
Small Sage Grey Wooden Kennel For Dogs

This hutch is brilliant for my rabbit! Well worth the money! It will be only used for spring/summer as my rabbit will be in house for the colder months!

Melanie
Bunny Ark Rabbit Hutch
Bunny Ark Rabbit Hutch

Trike Cover - Replacement Cover - BH03

Mitchell Gage
Trike Cover - Replacement Cover - BH03
Trike Cover - Replacement Cover - BH03
Bike cover

Great communication very easy transaction yet to fit it but very happy with the service I received

Pete Rainsbury
Bike Home - Replacement Cover
Bike Home - Replacement Cover
Rabbit hutch

Good quality, well made strong

Julie Sone
Double Rabbit Hutch
Double Rabbit Hutch
Well made and easy to put together.

Good hutch. Well made and easy to put together. Good space for rabbit with different levels. It did smell a bit on opening so I would air it out for a few days before putting rabbit in. We also added extra bolt locks on the doors as they are just a twist turn and I could imagine rabbit getting out of my children getting in!

Amber Guyton
Double Height Rabbit Hutch
Double Height Rabbit Hutch
Small sage grey kennel

Great kennel, easy to assemble with pre drilled holes.
I did it with no assistance & hand screwdriver. Nice size & very sturdy.

Georgina
Small Sage Grey Wooden Kennel For Dogs
Small Sage Grey Wooden Kennel For Dogs