With the Chelsea Flower Show in full swing, like us you're probably watching in complete awe of the floral displays on show. But forgetting their obvious beauty for a moment, what are some surprising benefits to growing flowers in your own garden?
1) Attracts Pollinators
Fill your garden with a variety of flowers, plants and herbs to keep the insects such as bees and butterflies happy. As these insects flock to your garden to pollinate plants, help everything else grow, offering a fuller look in your garden.
2) Positive Effect On Your Mood
Flower growing has many personal health benefits to us. Flower growing reduces stress by forcing you to take in the fresh air, soak in floral scents and gets you exercising, optimising blood flown and releasing positive hormones called endorphins which improves mood.
Having a beautiful floral, neat garden adds a sense of pride and accomplishment in your home. Seeing your garden bust with life and colour from your own work is a feeling like no other and is guaranteed to improve your mood.
3) Environmental Benefits
Flowers play a vital role in creating a healthy, diverse ecosystem. Flowering plants help improve soil quality as well as minimizing erosion by allowing water to better flow through your plants and garden.
Full flower gardens promote photosynthesis, meaning flowers soak in CO2 to release oxygen. Flowers therefore help reduce CO2 emissions to provide cleaner air with more oxygen in your outdoor space.
4) Improves Immune System
Being in the garden, being amongst a variety of flowers, plants, herbs and soils exposes the body to bacteria and microbes. Getting your hands dirty allows your body to create antibodies for these bacteria and microbes, in turn protecting you in the future from potential illnesses and diseases. So yes, get stuck in!
5) The Natural Antidepressant: Soil
A 2007 study shows that a friendly soil bacteria activates brain cells to release the chemical serotonin into your blood stream. Increased serotonin levels in your system helps with sleep quality, bone health, wound healing, mood, digestion and much more.
6) Increasing Your vitamin D Levels
Spending time outdoors in the garden planting flowers exposes the body to sunlight; a vital vitamin D generator. Spending just half an hour, three times a week gardening, helps to produce a healthy level of vitamin D in your body.
Vitamin d helps your body absorb calcium, which is the main ingredient to healthy bones. Healthy vitamin D levels can help lower blood pressure, improve bone strength, reduces risk of serious illnesses and diseases, just to name a few.
