🥂Cheers to Longevity…

Some time ago, my doctor asked me if I exercised. I replied, “Yes, I garden.” She, who is young, pristine, and dressed head to toe in designer clothes, looked at me perplexed and said, “Oh no, I mean exercise.” Obviously, she has never moved wheelbarrows full of compost or pea gravel or dug deep holes for tree planting!

If you’re a gardener, you’ll know how great you feel, not to mention how well you sleep after a long day outdoors. That sense of accomplishment overrides any aches and pains you may feel.

Vitamin D absorbed from the sun helps protect against cancer and heart disease, and the bacteria in dirt have been linked to a more robust immune system. Dirt also acts as a ground against the positive electrons the body absorbs from electromagnetic frequencies (e.g., time spent on the computer) that can lead to inflammation. Chances are you are eating better, too, if you have a vegetable garden.

I don’t have the attention span or discipline to meditate. However, I can spend hours in the garden, not thinking of anything other than the task at hand, and my mind is entirely free of troubling thoughts. Recent studies show that gardening may also lower the risk of developing dementia.

Bunny Mellon, hired by John F. Kennedy to design the Rose Garden at the White House, lived to 103. (President Kennedy also asked Mellon to redesign the East Garden on the White House grounds for Jackie Kennedy and their children, which was called “The Jacqueline Kennedy Garden.” Unfortunately, President Kennedy was assassinated soon after, and Jackie left the White House before truly enjoying these new gardens.)

If you watch YouTube gardening videos, you may have noticed that many hosts are older, with lovely, weathered skin and endearing laugh lines at the corners of their eyes. Their hands are not perfectly manicured, and their hair is askew under a favourite hat. Also, if you happen to see the head gardener while visiting a public garden, you will no doubt have had the opportunity to talk to them and observe their love and enthusiasm for their life’s work. They are living their best life…

 

Creating a beautiful outdoor environment is rewarding, with the bonus of knowing that all those hours spent in the garden lead to a longer, happier, healthier life. Having your faithful companion following you around all day only adds to a better quality of life for both of you. (However, Charlie is usually up to no good…digging where she shouldn’t, stealing pruners or garden gloves.) Like me, she is exhausted after those particularly long, demanding days!

Although March can be a cruel month, before long, we’ll be back in the dirt implementing all those plans we’ve made (daydreamed about) over the winter. That first visit to a greenhouse will be as tempting as a child in a candy shop! Start the car…

Cheers to the good life, xox Judy❤️