National Garden Month: Health Benefits of Gardening for Seniors

After a long winter, spring is finally in the air. Minnesotans are anxious to get outside for picnics, walks, and yard projects. And many are thinking about what to grow in their gardens this year—flowers, vegetables, herbs, or all of those. Soon, residents in our Southview Senior Communities will be tending to the garden beds we cultivate each year, growing a variety of plants. To celebrate National Garden Month, we want to highlight some of the health benefits of gardening, especially for seniors.

National Garden Month

In the late 1980s, at the insistence of garden and horticulture organizations, Ronald Reagan designated one week in April as National Gardening Week. The idea was to showcase the importance of gardening for the environment as well as overall wellness for gardeners of all ages and abilities. More than a decade later, the National Gardening Association called for a monthlong celebration of gardening, with the first such celebration being April 2003.

Then in 2015, April was officially declared National Garden Month by then-Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Gardening for Physical Health

With additional risks that come with age, maintaining physical health and fitness can become more challenging as we grow older. But simple, low-impact exercises and activities provide a range of benefits to help seniors stay mobile, healthy, and happy.

Gardening is a fun, relaxing, and purposeful activity that offers physical health benefits including:

Increased vitamin D from spending time outdoors. Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption for healthy bones, reducing the risk of fractures and osteoporosis.
Improved cardiovascular health. Digging, twisting, raking, and other light exercises keep the heart and circulatory system strong, keeping blood pressure in check and lowering the risk of stroke.
Enhanced balance and flexibility through routine movements like walking, reaching, and bending.
Maintaining dexterity and motor skills by using tools, handling and planting seeds, digging, and more.

Gardening for Mental Health

Spending time outdoors is a natural stress reliever. The quiet and peacefulness of nature provides a calming experience that allows our minds and bodies to slow down and be present in the moment. And because gardeners are essentially immersed in nature, planting and cultivating a garden is an ideal activity for mental wellness, promoting:

Brain function through detailed focus and problem solving. Gardening requires planning and thought processing that provides cognitive stimulation and improves memory.
Mood-boosting levels of serotonin and dopamine. Spending time outdoors increases exposure to sunlight, triggering the release of the body’s happy hormones.
Relaxation and stress reduction through routine tasks. Repetition provides a sense of structure, so habitually watering, weeding, and tending to a garden can ease anxiety and stress.
A sense of accomplishment and increased self-esteem by planting seeds and watching them grow.

Gardening for Social Wellness

One of the great things about planting and tending to a garden is that it can be done by anyone of any age and any skill level. Gardening gets people outside, and it gets them talking, connecting, and sharing stories. And for seniors who may feel lonely or isolated, gardening helps grow social wellness, too.

Our Southview communities provide shared spaces for residents to plant flowers, herbs, and vegetables. Working in these gardens brings people together, and we’ve watched many wonderful friendships grow.

And as a team, everyone who’s interested shares the responsibility of caring for our gardens. That way, we all feel a sense of pride when we see the colorful flowers or harvest the vegetables.

Grow with Us at Southview

We hope these health benefits of gardening for seniors inspire you or your loved one to get out and get planting during National Garden Month. And we encourage you to come and grow with us! Schedule a tour of any of our Southview Senior Communities to explore our campuses and discover all the life enrichment opportunities we have to offer.