Hello gardeners!

Spring is the season of hope—and the garden is serving it up right now. After a dreary winter, those first green shoots remind us that life continues its cycle. I love the bright green of new growth. It reassures me that despite so much change in the world, nature’s rhythms persist. I’d like to say those rhythms remain untouched, but climate change makes that impossible. Still, that’s a topic for another day.

Gardening for Your Health

Let’s start with the obvious: Vitamin D.
Just 10 to 30 minutes of sunshine a few times a week can lift your mood and support your immune system. Spring offers the perfect gentle sun and fresh air to ease us back outdoors. A few minutes with your face turned to the light is incredibly revitalizing. Even the pets instinctively find the sunny spots this time of year.

Then there’s movement.
Gardening is moderate physical activity. And if you're already strength training, it shows up here! Gardening takes stamina and strength. Garden work uses all the major muscle groups. Just don’t forget to stretch before heading outside. Your back and hips will thank you.

Sunshine, soil, and sanity: The garden is mental health magic.

Beyond the physical, gardening supports our mental wellbeing. It provides structure, purpose, and a quiet form of joy that so many of us crave in this noisy stressful world.

Here is Your Garden Therapy: No Appointment Needed

Three ways to nurture your mental health with spring gardening:

Create a morning ritual.
Even five minutes of quiet observation lowers cortisol (the stress hormone). I’ve started sitting outside with my morning coffee—even if there’s still a chill in the air.
Plant something that brings you joy.
Choose a flower or herb that delights you and check in on it daily. I see you, dahlia growers, inspecting your tubers every morning! This small connection sparks calm and joy.
Invite nature in.
Clip a few flowering branches or cut some flowering bulbs. The scent of nature indoors can brighten your mood and connect you to the calm of nature.

Gardening for the Earth

The healing power of gardening goes beyond the gardener—it’s also how we heal the Earth.

Regenerative gardening means working with nature, not against it. It supports biodiversity, reduces emissions, and rebuilds living soil. When we garden regeneratively, we move from hobbyists to stewards.

This week, here are three small actions you can take to heal the Earth from your garden:

Mulch with organic material.
It keeps moisture in, nourishes the plants with nutrients readily available, and feeds your soil microbes. Leave the leaves—or at least some. Leaf litter provides habitat for overwintering insects and supports ground-feeding birds.
Chop and drop.
Instead of removing pruned branches, stems, or spent plants, simply chop them up and drop them right where they fall—or around nearby plants. Why pay to bring in mulch when you can create it yourself, on the spot. The critters in your garden will thank you. Science has shown this is a new best practice for eco-conscious gardeners.
Think about adding a soft landing under one of your trees.
A soft landing is a thoughtful planting strategy that supports the full life cycle of insects that begin life in the canopy of trees. The soft landing mimics the forest floor, cushioning the fall of caterpillars and protecting them from mowers. Soft landings are a simple, powerful way for gardeners to support biodiversity.

This is a photo I took at Vandusen Botanical Garden of a soft landing of native plants under a tree. The rocks also add important hiding spots for insects.

Spring invites you into a cycle older than time. It connects you to rhythms beyond productivity—it roots you in presence, in hope, and in healing. Gardening can be good for the gardener and good for the Earth.

Come on, let’s get our hands dirty and make a difference.