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Gardening is one of the purest forms of mortal pleasure…Planting a garden means believing in a better tomorrow. – Ashwini Shenoy
Gardening is also a great way to care for our physical & mental health. So says a British study called Gardening for Health: a regular dose of gardening. People tend to unconsciously breathe a little deeper when outside working. This increases oxygen levels in the blood which stimulates appetite, increase immune responses, reduces fatigue & improves overall sleep quality.
Spending time in even the smallest of gardens has been shown to reduce heart rate and muscle tension. Sunlight, (at a premium so far for us this spring) lowers blood pressure and increases vitamin D levels. Mark Twain once said “In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four-and-twenty hours.” I wonder if he had ever visited Newfoundland.
The care of the Earth is our most ancient & most worthy, and after all, our most pleasing responsibility. - Wendell Berry
Like regular exercise, gardening has been shown to lighten our moods & reduce stress and anxiety. Deep down it’s very gratifying to plant, tend, care for & enjoy the immense beauty of something you & nature have created, working hand in hand.
Gardening routines are said to provide structure to our day and are linked to improved mental health. These routines create soothing rhythms that ease stress & promote mindfulness - the ego tends to fade & the mind feels entirely quiet, focused & peaceful.
Plant and Your Spouse Plants with you; Weed and you Weed Alone. -Jean Jacques Rousseau
I’m not sure who does most of the weeding in the vast flower beds & plant tiers at #17 Portugal Road, but someone has done a beautiful job & both spouses were hard at work early on a chilly Saturday morning this weekend in a very commendable fashion.
Shog & Peggy Stone, with their well-worn garden gloves on, continued to support BOTE & The Longest Day by selling plants from their spacious garden. Indeed, there was a constant flow of customers there early on & both Shog & Peggy were kept busy, touring the premises, packing up plants & flowers, collecting donations, & delivering the boxes of planters to the parked vehicles.
They obviously had spent a great deal of prep time to gather up such a large variety of healthy-looking hostas, lillies , irises, bolly balls & other plants to run such a smooth operation. Big, small, or in between, they all went out the driveway into the trunks, & another $5 donation was tucked snugly into Shog’s money apron. Shog did confide to me as to their very ambitious fundraising target, and if they reach it that’s a lot of plants to go out the door. We certainly hope they attain their goal, but whatever amount they raise, what a wonderful gesture by two of our loyal members, Peggy & Shog. The Alzheimer’s Society is thankful.
Small seeds planted are better than great deeds planed
Well, from the look of things at Shog & Peggy’s home Saturday morning, there were thousands of seeds planted & a great deed well planned & well executed, they obviously believe in a better tomorrow, and are contributing towards making that happen. Our sincere thanks to Shog & Peggy on a job well done. Shog mentioned they were off to Nova Scotia for a few shuffles soon, but hoped he & Peggy could have time to drop by the Club if possible. We would be delighted to see them both. But in the meantime, we certainly wish them well on their vacation & the best of Peony luck at the bridge tables.
A garden is a delight to the eye and a solace for the soul. – Saadi
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