Damson plums grow throughout NZ and can be used for wine, jam and chutney. Photo / Sally Tagg
Damson plums grow throughout NZ and can be used for wine, jam and chutney. Photo / Sally Tagg
Carol Bucknell
The green-thumbed brigade has long insisted that gardening lifts your spirits, even if it can be a tad hard on the knees at times. If in doubt, a quick Google search will reveal the enormous amount of research on the mental and physical health benefits of gardening withthe general consensus being that yes, we thrive when we're immersed in nature especially when our hands are in the soil, planting and sowing seed. It's in our DNA, after all, deeply embedded in our genetic history to be doing those things. And the research keeps growing (no pun intended). For instance, scientists are now even saying that ditching the gardening gloves and having direct contact with healthy soil and all its millions of fungal and other micro-organisms can improve our immunity levels.
Covid-19 lockdown made our need to connect with nature even more obvious. As soon as level 4 was announced there was a frantic rush to buy plants and seeds. Newbies who'd never picked up a trowel before as well as more experienced gardeners formed long queues to buy vegetable seedlings. These went first, then seeds, then virtually any remaining plant leaving shelves bare. Garden centres and nurseries had never seen anything like it, while some seed suppliers had to close down for a week or so to catch up with demand.
When times are tough, nurturing edible plants is a soothing reminder that life goes on, that with a little love and attention they will grow and produce crops. Growing some of your own food can restore your faith in the future; eating that food will take you to a whole new happy place.
Putting a seat or chairs and table in a sheltered spot outside is a good trick to entice you away from the heater even if it's just for a quick cuppa in the morning sun. Photo / Sally Tagg
And if you want to improve the mental, emotional and physical health of your kids get them off their devices and out into the garden too. This according to experts such as American journalist Richard Louv, who has written 10 books on the subject including the seminal Last Child in the Woods (2005). Louv introduced the concept of Nature-Deficit Disorder, positing that direct exposure to nature enhances the development of both children and adults, reducing the symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), improving children's cognitive abilities and their resistance to negative stresses and depression. You may not be able to take your children tramping in the bush or sailing every weekend but you can give them a wee garden or trough of veges or flowers to tend for their daily nature buzz.
HOUSE PLANT RENAISSANCE
What about apartment dwellers and those with little or no room to grow food and herbs? They're gardening too, mostly with decorative indoor plants - and they're buying more and more of them, it seems. In fact, the indoor plant renaissance has seen such a dramatic increase in the sale of fiddle leaf figs, moth orchids, calathea and other lush lovelies that prices are soaring. Small hoya plants, a sub-tropical climber with deliciously scented flowers, are reportedly fetching close to $1000 on Trade Me at the moment.
Don't be fooled into thinking a pricey Hoya will bring you more joy than a humble Boston fern though. It's the care and love you give plants, and their response to that care that makes you feel good, not the price tag. For indoor plants to thrive you need to think about the space where the plant will live. Is that room suitable as far as light and humidity (most hate dry air) levels go? Is it a fussy plant that needs lots of cossetting? Best go for an easy-care aspidistra or peace lily if you're too busy to give a plant much attention.
If you do have an outside area, don't be put off from growing stuff because it's a bit nippy out there. If the soil is cold or frozen in your area the options are not as numerous compared to those in warmer areas but you can certainly grow a few vegetables and herbs in pots, raised beds or greenhouses. Some vegetables such as peas, broad beans, broccoli, silverbeet and spinach prefer cooler weather and do well in pots. Add plenty of compost or other organic matter to soil at least three weeks before planting. Peas and broad beans can be sown directly into the garden (or pots) while broccoli, silverbeet and spinach are best sown in trays then planted out as seedlings.
Garlic is also a great one for Winter Solstice as in theory, you plant on the shortest day of the year and harvest on the longest. Photo / Sally Tagg
If you have the space, give asparagus a go this year. Now is a good time to plant asparagus crowns, spaced about 30cm apart and around 15cm deep in fertile, well-drained soil. The shortest day (June 21) is traditionally the time to grow garlic, pointy end upwards for harvesting on the longest day (December 21). Of course, as with anything you plant, rules can be bent a little on timing, depending on the conditions in your part of the country.
No matter what you plant or how small your outdoor space, don't let the cold stop you enjoying it this winter. Putting a seat or chairs and table in a sheltered spot outside is a good trick to entice you away from the heater even if it's just for a quick cuppa in the morning sun. Add an outdoor fireplace and you'll linger longer in the evening. Plant some winter flowering or fruiting species such as camellia, aloes or crab apples nearby and the birds will happily join you.
