Expanding Personal Sanctuaries: Horticultural Therapy Gains Popularity Among Female Individuals as a Form of Self-Preservation
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In a world where women are often expected to juggle multiple roles, taking time for self-care can feel like a luxury. However, a growing number of women are finding solace and strength in an unlikely place: the garden.
Princess Catherine has emphasised the importance of self-care, stating that taking time to pause, reflect, and care for oneself is a powerful act of strength. And gardening, whether on a patio or with a desktop planter, is becoming a popular form of self-care for women.
The benefits of gardening extend far beyond the physical act of tending to plants. Gardening can be a path to holistic wellness, offering significant mental health and well-being benefits for women.
Research supports the benefits of gardening, including reduced cortisol levels, lower anxiety, increased serotonin, improved mood, feelings of purpose, joy, and personal agency. The act of gardening provides an opportunity to pause, touch something living, and take a breath. Interaction with indoor plants has been found to significantly reduce physiological and psychological stress.
One of the key benefits of gardening is its ability to reduce stress and anxiety. Gardening grounds the mind by engaging the senses gently—touching soil, smelling plants, and observing growth—which helps reduce stress, anxiety, and anger by promoting relaxation and attention restoration.
Spending as little as 2.5 hours per week in gardening activities correlates with significantly better mental well-being, life satisfaction, and lower depression symptoms among middle-aged and older adults. Gardening encourages acceptance of uncontrollable factors (like weather) and a growth mindset, reducing perfectionism and fostering present-moment focus, all of which support mental health recovery.
Gardening also provides structure, routine, and a safe space for those recovering from burnout, helping them slow down and reconnect without pressure. Programs using gardening emphasise gentle tasks and challenge perfectionism, which is often heightened in women conditioned to overachieve.
Although gardening can be solitary, it often fosters social ties through sharing plants, knowledge, and produce, which enhances resilience to anxiety and depression. Growing sensory-rich, forgiving plants like lavender, mint, lemon balm, chamomile, and edible herbs helps with healing by offering enjoyable and rewarding gardening experiences which support mood and well-being.
Mental health is acknowledged as being just as important as physical health. Self-care is not selfish, but sacred. Caring for oneself is recognised as a crucial foundation for caring for others. Donna Letier states that tending a garden is a radical act of self-care.
The act of gardening can provide nurturing for physical, mental, and emotional health. A desktop garden doesn't require a green thumb, but a gentle willingness to tend and pay attention. Rest is productive, even if growth is slowed in a garden. Gardening can serve as a reminder that beauty still emerges in the mess.
Self-care doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming; it can be as simple as 10 minutes watering a patio herb garden or 1 minute misting a desktop garden. As we continue to prioritise women's health and wellness, let's remember to take time for ourselves, to pause, reflect, and care for our own well-being. After all, we cannot pour from an empty cup.
[1] Barton, J., & Pretty, J. (2010). What is the Best Dose of Nature and Green Exercise for Improving Mental Health? A Multi-Study Analysis. Environmental Science and Technology, 44(10), 2947–2955.
[2] Baxter, C., & McMahon, R. (2012). A review of the benefits of gardening for mental health. Journal of Public Mental Health, 11(2), 67–73.
[3] Thorell, S., et al. (2019). The association between green exercise and mental health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Preventive Medicine, 123, 107–115.
[4] Humphreys, K. L., et al. (2017). A systematic review of the effects of gardening on health and wellbeing. Journal of Public Health, 39(3), ePub ahead of print.
- Gardening, whether on a patio or with a desktop planter, is becoming a popular form of self-care for women, offering mental health and well-being benefits.
- Research shows that gardening reduces cortisol levels, lowers anxiety, increases serotonin, improves mood, and provides feelings of purpose, joy, and personal agency, thus promoting relaxation and attention restoration.
- Spending as little as 2.5 hours per week in gardening activities is associated with significantly better mental well-being, life satisfaction, and lower depression symptoms among middle-aged and older adults.
- Gardening provides a structure, routine, and safe space for those recovering from burnout, helping them slow down, reconnect without pressure, and nurture physical, mental, and emotional health.
