How to plant a wellbeing garden

From herbs to aid sleep to trees that tackle pollution, plants can provide more than just a visual feast

There is an ever-growing body of scientific evidence that gardens and gardening are good for our physical, mental and social wellbeing. Having something to nurture brings a sense of unpressured purpose to our lives. And if you choose the right plants and design, you can enhance the wellbeing your garden provides.

A considered, layered approach to planting can block traffic noise; the right trees and shrubs can combat pollution; certain flowers can keep pollen counts low, while still encouraging bees and insects; and scented plants can reduce stress. Here’s how to do it.

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Gardening tips: plant cowslips

Then read a handy guide and make holes to let hedgehogs in

Plant this Cowslips (Primula veris) will colonise ground around ponds or add sparkle to damp lawns, sending up spikes of buttery blooms in April and May that provide pollen and nectar for bees. These British native perennials prefer chalky or neutral soils and will grow in containers if kept moist.

Read this If you’re feeling engulfed by “garden overwhelm” (a common phenomenon come spring) a new book, The 5 Minute Garden (£9.99 Pavilion Books), might calm your nerves. Writer Laetitia Maklouf puts the case for five-minute garden forays that, done daily, will help you create a beautiful plot.

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How to toughen up seedlings for planting in the ground | Alys Fowler

Hardening off has to be done slowly, or a sudden cold shock will check growth

There is so much to be done at the moment: all those seeds that need to be scattered and the seedlings that will be rapidly outgrowing their pots. But if you are just opening your first seed packet, don’t panic. It’s always tempting, particularly when Instagram is taunting you, to think that you are behind in sowing. You are not. Don’t get distracted by false gods.

As my mother always reminds me, the hardier veg (beetroot, spring onions, lettuce, carrots, parsnips, basically anything other than chillies) sown later in March or early April grows at such a pace that it will quickly outstrip the early birds. I say this over and over again, in part to remind myself; but seeds sown in step with the season grow in time with the lengthening days, and are much more likely to take on the slugs, snails and other marauders out to get them.

Continue reading...

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via IFTTT

How to plant a wellbeing garden

From herbs to aid sleep to trees that tackle pollution, plants can provide more than just a visual feast

There is an ever-growing body of scientific evidence that gardens and gardening are good for our physical, mental and social wellbeing. Having something to nurture brings a sense of unpressured purpose to our lives. And if you choose the right plants and design, you can enhance the wellbeing your garden provides.

A considered, layered approach to planting can block traffic noise; the right trees and shrubs can combat pollution; certain flowers can keep pollen counts low, while still encouraging bees and insects; and scented plants can reduce stress. Here’s how to do it.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2wZuDQ8
via IFTTT

Gardening tips: plant cowslips

Then read a handy guide and make holes to let hedgehogs in

Plant this Cowslips (Primula veris) will colonise ground around ponds or add sparkle to damp lawns, sending up spikes of buttery blooms in April and May that provide pollen and nectar for bees. These British native perennials prefer chalky or neutral soils and will grow in containers if kept moist.

Read this If you’re feeling engulfed by “garden overwhelm” (a common phenomenon come spring) a new book, The 5 Minute Garden (£9.99 Pavilion Books), might calm your nerves. Writer Laetitia Maklouf puts the case for five-minute garden forays that, done daily, will help you create a beautiful plot.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3cYiNqk
via IFTTT

How to toughen up seedlings for planting in the ground | Alys Fowler

Hardening off has to be done slowly, or a sudden cold shock will check growth

There is so much to be done at the moment: all those seeds that need to be scattered and the seedlings that will be rapidly outgrowing their pots. But if you are just opening your first seed packet, don’t panic. It’s always tempting, particularly when Instagram is taunting you, to think that you are behind in sowing. You are not. Don’t get distracted by false gods.

As my mother always reminds me, the hardier veg (beetroot, spring onions, lettuce, carrots, parsnips, basically anything other than chillies) sown later in March or early April grows at such a pace that it will quickly outstrip the early birds. I say this over and over again, in part to remind myself; but seeds sown in step with the season grow in time with the lengthening days, and are much more likely to take on the slugs, snails and other marauders out to get them.

Continue reading...

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House for sale halfway up of one of England’s steepest streets

Would you live here?

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