Cultivating Joy: 20+ Reasons Why Gardening Makes a Great Hobby

Last Updated on February 14, 2024 by Lifevif Team and JC Franco

Does it sometimes feel like your mind, body, and soul need a time-out from the responsibilities, stresses, and strains of everyday life? Hobbies are a great way to give yourself a much-deserved and enjoyable time out, and I would like to share with you why I believe gardening is the ideal hobby for just about everyone.

Nowadays, life is busy and somewhat demanding. When you need a bit of downtime or self-care for your mental and emotional health, it’s a good idea to start looking into some hobbies. If you have found your way to this page, you may be considering gardening as a hobby – great choice! Read on to discover about the 21 simple (yet impressive) reasons why gardening might be just the right hobby for you – and everyone else (in my opinion at least!).

So, are you wondering if gardening is the type of hobby that adds value to your life?

These are 21 reasons why gardening is a great hobby.

1. Gardening teaches responsibility.

Caring for plants can be aptly described as “full-on”. The plants in your garden are somewhat at your mercy. In order to grow and thrive, the plants in your garden need your complete attention and care. This is a great way to learn a bit more about responsibility and to feel a sense of responsibility for something other than family, home, or work, for example.

2. Growing your own fruit & veg is good for your health.

Buying vegetables from the grocery store might not be a budget killer, but you can never quite be sure if you are buying organic or unethically grown and modified foods. If you want the healthiest version of fruit and veg possible, incorporating a vegetable and herb garden and possibly even a fruit garden into your back yard is a great option. Many garden hobbyists use their passion and skill to actually feed their families.

3. You can work up a sweat and maintain a level of fitness.

If you find that you are not one for sport and physical activity, you can benefit physically from gardening. Gardening provides somewhat of a workout and can help you to maintain a good level of fitness. Gardening includes walking, squatting, lifting, pushing (wheelbarrows), reaching, and more. Do a bit of gardening and you can, somewhat, keep yourself looking fit and healthy.

4. Growing your own plants is vastly rewarding.

Nothing can quite beat that rewarding feeling when seeds you have planted or even seedlings you’ve planted take off and start to flourish. Seeing your garden take shape will fill you with an immense amount of pride, and when things are starting to look good, it will motivate you to keep on working at it.

5. Gardening relieves the effects of depression.

An article, published by The Guardian on mental health, featured how “green therapy” is being effectively used for the rehabilitation and recovery of patients struggling with depression. Often depression leaves people feeling despondent, alone, and without purpose and direction. Gardening is proven to release endorphins, which are known as feel-good hormones. By doing gardening on a regular basis, you can defeat feelings of depression and work towards building/creating something that makes you feel happier. 

6. Garden hobbyists are constantly learning (brain workout).

Even if you have a busy life, you might find that your brain is no longer challenged. Gardening as a hobby requires a lot of research, thought, planning, and learning. There’s absolutely no doubt that while gardening, your brain is constantly having a workout. 

7. A beautiful garden is a great place to relax and unwind.

Garden hobbyists all feel the same on this one! Creating a garden is not just about the activity, but also about the enjoyment that you get from it afterward. It’s far more relaxing to spend time enjoying a barbecue or a celebration in the garden if it’s beautiful.

8. You can increase the curb appeal & value of your home with gardening.

If you are looking for a hobby that can increase the aesthetics as well as the value of your property, gardening is it! A home with a beautiful garden is always valued at more than a home without a garden or with a garden in disarray. 

9. While gardening, you get a healthy boost of Vitamin D.

Keeping healthy is vitally important, and vitamin D is one of the more essential vitamins that you need. Without vitamin D, people can suffer depression. Without vitamin D, the body cannot effectively absorb calcium, which leads to brittle bones, osteomalacia, and osteoporosis. You can get vitamin D by spending 15 to 30 minutes per day in the sunshine (outdoors), or you can take a supplement. If you want to take on a hobby that boosts your health, gardening can naturally help you to increase your vitamin D levels

10. A garden environment is ideal for a bit of meditative thinking.

Sometimes you just need to clear your mind and work out things in your head. Gardening as a hobby can become quite meditative. You can think through complex problems and emotions as you methodically work on certain areas of your garden. Your garden is also calm, peaceful, and away from the bustle of the world.

11. Gardening reduces stress and anxiety.

Gardening provides a good way to work out some of those frustrations, stresses, and anxieties that you might have. It works by removing you from the situations that are stressful and giving you something else to focus on. Whether you are digging a garden bed or designing a colorful flowerbed display, you can expect, with a bit of time, for your stress and anxious feelings to melt away. 

12. A garden is a canvas open to your creative expression.

Often, hobbies are focused on creating something beautiful or functional. When you start gardening as a hobby, you are provided with a canvas to truly express yourself creatively.

13. Planting a garden can satisfy your competitive side.

If you have a competitive nature, creating a garden can actually satisfy this need for you. Whether you create a garden space that outshines your neighbor’s garden or enter your garden into gardening competitions, you can get a bit of competitiveness out of the way.

14. Gardening provides an opportunity to bond with the family.

If you want to take on a hobby that you can do alone as well as with your family, gardening is a great option. If you want to bond with your partner or the kids, you can plan a gardening day. Add a few fun activities into the mix if you have small children. It’s a great way to bond as a family.

15. Combatting loneliness is simplified with Gardening.

If you feel alone, it is only compounded by having spare time with nothing to do and no one to do it with. Gardening is an all-encompassing hobby. Garden hobbyists often find that they become engrossed in the activity and don’t have much time to focus on feelings of loneliness. You can also meet like-minded people through gardening by joining garden hobby groups in social media where you can connect, share ideas, and show off your latest gardening wins.

16. Gardening skills can help you earn extra cash.

If you are growing a beautiful flower garden, vegetable garden, herb garden, or fruit garden, you can actually sell the “fruits” of your garden at local markets or to your neighbors. You can also transform your garden goods into products that you can sell online (think jam, sauces, pressed flower art, and more).

17. Gardeners learn the art of patience.

If you could do with a lesson in patience, gardening is the hobby just to teach it. Gardening is not the type of hobby that offers instant gratification. Seeds must be nurtured, garden beds take time to design and create, and maintenance is an ongoing task. It could be weeks or months before you see your plants in bloom. It requires a lot of waiting and anticipation, which is great for teaching patience.

18. Gardening ensures you always have a meaningful gift at hand.

Need a quick gift in a hurry for your partner, a sad friend, a birthday? Your garden could have everything you need for a meaningful homemade gift. Fresh cut flowers, a home-made sauce, an apple tart made with home-grown apples – think about it.

19. Gardening can distract you from your worries and upsets.

If you are caught up in your head fraught with worries and upsets, you can work through them and eliminate them by distracting yourself with a bit of gardening. As a hobby, gardening is an excellent form of distraction from everyday life.

20. Growing and tending a garden provides a something-to-look-forward-to sense.

When planting a garden, there’s always something to look forward to. You can look forward to seeds sprouting, plants, flowering, and first-fruits of the season and so on. Often, people just need something to forward to in order to have added value in life. 

21. Gardeners get to enjoy a sense of purpose and pride. 

When you have a hobby that requires regular attention, it provides you with a sense of purpose. Of course, when your garden takes shape and as your skills progress, you will be filled with a sense of pride. Both of these emotions/feelings are valuable in life.

Last Word

Considering the 21 points above, there is every reason to believe that gardening makes for an excellent hobby for people of all ages. Is gardening for you? You decide!

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This article was co-authored by our team of in-house and freelance writers, and reviewed by our editors, who share their experiences and knowledge about the "Seven F's of Life".

JC Franco
Editor | + posts

JC Franco is a New York-based editor for Lifevif. He mainly focuses on content about faith, spirituality, personal growth, finance, and sports. He graduated from Mercyhurst University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business, majoring in Marketing. He is a certified tennis instructor who teaches in the New York City Metropolitan area. In terms of finance, he has passed the Level I exam of the CFA program.