Reaping the physical and psychological benefits of gardening

Picture this: You're on your smartphone, checking the weather. An "icy mix" is coming your way. Great.

An incoming text interrupts your weather search. School is canceled for another snow day.

Suddenly, you're compelled to check your Facebook page. Your friends are posting photos of sunny beaches during spring break. You start to post a response when you're interrupted by a phone call from your mother-in-law who slipped on her icy driveway. Back to your weather app to check the radar.

Then, it hits you: you're tired of it. Tired of relentless cold weather, and tired of the tyranny of your phone. You've got the double whammy of winter fatigue and attention fatigue. The good news? There's an antidote for both. It's called gardening.

Gardening - just the thought of it - lifts your winter-weary soul. It's an easy pick-me-up from winter fatigue. There's something miraculous about the first green shoots poking up from the soil, and the gardener is part of that miracle. It's exciting, rejuvenating, and inspiring.

Multiple studies have shown that gardening can improve a person's mood. The field of horticultural therapy is brimming with examples of people who have benefited psychologically from digging in the dirt.

Before the words psychology and therapy entered our vocabulary, people have tended plants for their own well-being. In the late 1700s, Dr. Benjamin Rush, a groundbreaking psychiatrist and signer of the Declaration of Independence, prescribed "work in the garden as a curative for ills of the mind and nervous system." Today, even if you are not suffering a nervous breakdown, getting your hands dirty is a prescription for mental health. Think of it as preventive maintenance for the mind and soul.

Another benefit of gardening is physical. It doesn't take the proverbial rocket scientist to know that gardening provides exercise in fresh air. But data-loving scientists have quantified this. A list of research in this field can be found in the 2014 publication "The Benefits of Gardening and Food Growing for Health and Wellbeing" by Ulrich Schmutz, Margi Lennartsson, Sarah Williams, Maria Devereaux and Gareth Davies.

You use more muscles in the garden than at a keyboard, and that's a good thing. It may not be a rush-inducing cardio workout, but gardening gets you moving, stretching, bending and lifting.

There's another dimension to gardening, and that's the simple, un-electronic nature of it. You don't need apps, a wireless connection, or any other electronic baggage out in the garden. What's the big deal about this? Consider those opposable thumbs of yours. This game-changing adaptation of our ancestors evolved over millions of years for gathering food and making tools to get food - not texting. Our big brains developed for surviving among plants and animals, not for navigating cyberspace.

Electronics have come to rule our lives under the guise of making our lives easier. All our devices are supposed to keep us connected.

Why is this "easier" life so exhausting?

For the vast majority of human history, we've been physically and spiritually connected with plants and soil, not phones and tablets. Research scientist Andrea Faber Taylor from the University of Illinois Landscape and Human Health Laboratory has examined this very recent phenomenon in our collective history.

"We live in a society where we're just maxing ourselves out all the time in terms of paying attention," she said in reference to the tyranny of tablets and texting and the like. She refers to this as attention fatigue.

To counter attention fatigue, Taylor asserts that we can revitalize our body and soul by being out in the natural world of plants and animals. Spending time in the garden or on a trail in the woods involves what Taylor calls "involuntary attention."

Most of us call this zoning out. It requires little effort, and it's healthy. Think of that - something healthy that is effortless!

The bottom line is that gardening is good for you. So fight the fatigue this month. Get into garden mode. The time to get your hands in the soil is now. The miracle is soon to follow.

•Valerie Blaine is the nature programs manager for the Forest Preserve District of Kane County. You may reach her at blainevalerie@kaneforest.com

Get your hands dirty at gardening workshops

There are some great opportunities to get your hands in the dirt at Creek Bend Nature Center, located in LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve 37W700 Dean St., St. Charles.

A series of garden workshops begins this month. In this fun and interactive series of gardening programs, participants will learn about the natural and cultural impact of plant species that grow in our gardens. Sessions begin with an informative discussion, and then participants will be provided with a pot, materials and plants to create their very own arrangement to take home.

• Butterfly Gardens, 1-2 p.m. Sunday, April 12

• Herb Gardens, 1-2 p.m. Sunday, April 26

• Vegetable Gardens, 1-2 p.m. Saturday, May 9

The fee is $10 per garden. Advance registration is required. Call (630) 444-3190 or email programs@kaneforest.com.

<b>Garden Geeks</b>This new volunteer program provides the opportunity to learn about native plants while helping maintain the native plant garden at Creek Bend Nature Center. Garden Geeks will install new plant material, weed and clean beds, and monitor plants throughout the growing season. To learn how you can get involved, come to the Garden Geek volunteer orientation from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, at Creek Bend Nature Center. Volunteers will meet new people, learn new plants, and experience the benefits of working in a beautiful, natural environment. Register at (630) 444-3190 or email programs@kaneforest.com.