{"id":5496,"date":"2019-01-31T00:12:05","date_gmt":"2019-01-30T23:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=5496"},"modified":"2019-01-31T18:58:19","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T17:58:19","slug":"benefits-of-garden-and-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=5496","title":{"rendered":"Benefits of Gardening and Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gardening on times can seem to be hard work and it is easy to stay indoors when it’s cold or wet. The garden at this time of year is not at it’s best; we are still waiting for most of the bulbs to emerge to cheer us up. The main thing not to forget are the benefits of being in the garden and working with the soil. There have been numerous studies over the years and some of the pluses of gardening they all agree on are as follows.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. It can reduce the risk of a stroke.<\/li>\n
  2. It burns up calories.<\/li>\n
  3. Heavy gardening can reduce the risk of heart disease and other life-threatening diseases.<\/li>\n
  4. The chances of osteoporosis developing can be reduced and for people who already live with the condition gardening is a good workout.<\/li>\n
  5. Stress levels are reduced. A study in the Netherlands proved that it is better than most other leisure activities at reducing stress levels.<\/li>\n
  6. Being surrounded by flowers improves ones health as they are a natural moderator of moods.<\/li>\n
  7. Digging in the soil has actual health and mood boosting benefits. There is a natural antidepressant in the soil called Mycobacterium vaccae. This stimulates serotonin production which is the stuff that makes us happy. It has been known for sometime that children exposed to soil in formative years develop healthy strong immune systems and have a lower incidence of asthma and eczema.<\/li>\n
  8. Gardening may lower the risk of dementia. Research shows that the physical activity associated with gardening can lower the risk. Two separate studies of people in their 60s and 70s over a sixteen year period showed a 36% to 47% lower risk of dementia than non gardeners, even when other health factors were taken into account. If only half of the claims of these studies are to be believed, then gardening can only improve our lives.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    RHS top tips for this month<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Prepare vegetable seed beds and sow some vegetables under cover.<\/li>\n
    2. Chit potato tubers<\/li>\n
    3. Protect blossom on peaches, apricots and nectarines.<\/li>\n
    4. Net winter vegetable crops.<\/li>\n
    5. Prune Winter flowering shrubs that have started to fade.<\/li>\n
    6. Divide snowdrops and replant while still in the green.<\/li>\n
    7. Prune wisteria.<\/li>\n
    8. Prune evergreen hedges and renovate deciduous ones.<\/li>\n
    9. Any climbing plants in conservatories can be cut back now.<\/li>\n
    10. Cut back deciduous grasses left uncut over winter. Remove dead grass from evergreen grasses<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Note: start using those gloves you were given for Christmas or your partners will think you didn’t appreciate the well chosen gift.<\/p>\n

      Dahlia tubers can be started now. Place in a warm, well lit area to start sprouting before planting up. You may need to spray with water to avoid drying out. Sweet pea seeds can still be sown now under a cloche. Keep up with dead heading of Winter pansies and primula and these will continue to flower well into the Spring. Cut off the old leaves of hellebores to expose the flowers.<\/p>\n

      Towards the end of the month, top dress the borders with a well balanced fertiliser such as growmore or blood fish and bone to feed perennials as they start to grow. Please follow instructions as to how much you need to use or the extra will only wash away<\/p>\n

      If you’re thinking it’s too early to plant tomato seeds then think again as the likes of Colin Thomas and Brian Foster will already have seedlings on the window sill.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      \n
      \n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Gardening on times can seem to be hard work and it is easy to stay indoors when it’s cold or wet. The garden at this time of year is not at it’s best; we are still waiting for most of the bulbs to emerge to cheer us up. The main thing not to forget are the benefits of being in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-1qE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13036,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13036","url_meta":{"origin":5496,"position":0},"title":"Gardening Thoughts From The Silver Foxes","author":"Alan Williams","date":"14th March 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER Gardening Thoughts From The Silver Foxes The gardening thoughts this month come from the Silver Foxes, who meet their probation officers at the Library Hub on Fridays. 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Deadheading of the roses has started along with the calendula, these annuals\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Items for June 2026"","block_context":{"text":"New Items for June 2026","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=435"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10750,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=10750","url_meta":{"origin":5496,"position":2},"title":"Gardening Tips for December","author":"Alan Williams","date":"13th December 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER Must Do Gardening Tips for December Ex Wenvoe Cricket Club Captain Alan Grant has some tips for us. Do not make excuses for not getting out in the garden. Adapt the garden to the amount of work you are capable of. A water feature will add serenity\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Village Gardener"","block_context":{"text":"The Village Gardener","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/waterCan-2-257x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5810,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=5810","url_meta":{"origin":5496,"position":3},"title":"The RHS Tips For May","author":"Alan Williams","date":"6th May 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 The RHS tips for May Watch out for late frosts. Earth up potatoes Plant out Summer bedding Water early and late in the day to make the most of your water. Keep hoeing weeds on dry days as they will die off quicker. Open greenhouse vents and doors on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Village Gardener"","block_context":{"text":"The Village Gardener","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11410,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=11410","url_meta":{"origin":5496,"position":4},"title":"Must Do Gardening Tips for April","author":"Alan Williams","date":"12th April 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"THE VILLAGE GARDENER Must Do Gardening Tips for April Tips from two of the nurseries that will be attending The Tuckers Plant Sale on Saturday the 30th April at 29 Vennwood Close. 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