Why Gardening Has Been My Lockdown Lifeline
Without realising its positive impact until I left home, I grew up surrounded by the idyllic natural beauty and solace of South Devon, with parents who would be out in the garden at every possible opportunity.
I have an early memory of plodding around the garden with my Dad, whilst he encouraged me to name the different plants; from passion flowers, to tulips, to red hot pokers. It turns out that the positive effects of my upbringing had been unconsciously instilled in me, because with more time to potter around the house during springtime quarantine, I have once again turned my hand to gardening. As a complete beginner, it was a surprisingly magical moment when the first Chinese Lantern and Marigold seeds I sowed in my DIY trays made from old food containers began to sprout after just ten days. The simplicity of the magic formula: water, sunlight and soil, and its ability to create something from nothing, is a humbling reminder that no matter how complicated we can make our lives in order to feel fulfilled, some of its best parts really are free. If lockdown has taught me one thing, it is that it isn’t about escaping an environment to feel fulfilled, but about making your own environment intrinsically fulfilling.
While there are many things for our minds to feel overwhelmed by during this period, there is something about the process of gardening that enables a sense of separation from everything internal. Getting your hands stuck into the ground is a grounding experience, allowing us time to channel stressful energy positively. In a recent Dutch study, researchers asked participants to complete a stressful task, then split them into two groups. One group read while the other gardened for 30 minutes. The group that read reported that their mood “further deteriorated”, while the gardeners had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol afterwards, feeling “fully restored” to a good mood.
Whilst a garden is usually an enjoyable accessory to a house and used for games, dinners outside and other activities, during lockdown it has become a much more vital and meaningful space which encourages us to tend to it properly. Watching a plant grow from a seed, to a seedling, to a flower, activates our natural instinct for nurture, making us feel both connected with nature and necessary for it to flourish. Furthermore, it offers an environment that encourages biodiversity. During a time that we may often feel disempowered concerning climate change, this is an accessible hobby which greatly benefits not only ourselves, but our environment too.
However, many people don’t have access to green space. According to the Office for National Statistics, one in eight people do not have access to a private or shared garden, rising to one in five in London. Luckily, there are various creative ways of using home space to satisfy an urge to garden, also known to be greatly beneficial to our mental health. Using wall space to grow climbing plants, sewing seeds in trays on a windowsill, growing indoor plants and creating terrariums: mini ecosystems in a fish bowl, are all simple ways to green up an environment and activate our intrinsic instinct to nurture, without any outdoor space.
While so many areas of our daily lives seem to have either stopped or slowed, it is a comfort to know that the changing seasons continue. Spring and summer lockdown could not have come at a more perfect time for those who enjoy gardening and, while many areas of societal progress and productivity may have slowed, nurture can take many forms, and it is of course worth reminding oneself that the most vital area of life to nurture is nature. As a hobby that anyone can turn a hand to and with most garden centres now reopened, I encourage you to plant a seed, and see what happens.
Written by Chloe Fox
“I am a Devonshire Bristol-based English Literature graduate, with an interest in trade publishing and creative journalism. After completing my A levels I studied for an Art Foundation degree at Exeter college, specialising in illustration. I then went on to study for a degree in English at the University of Bristol and completed a Masters degree in English Literature the preceding year. I have recently interned at a humanities and arts academic publishing house in Bristol and I am currently interning with Folio Literary management.”