The Benefits of Growing Your Own Plants

Are you one of those people who just love to see plants grow?

Yeah, me too. I just love growing my own vegetables and I do a tiny happy dance every time they start to grow, or get ridiculously excited when I get to taste the first carrot of the season. Since the temperature can go below freezing in Sweden, most people grow their vegetables in the spring, summer or fall. There is always the option to grow smaller vegetables indoors during the winter, but not all plants are fond of the lack of sunshine at that time.

If you haven’t grown anything yet, then by all means, try it! Whether you are lucky and live in one of those places where it’s possible to have a year-round garden, or you live somewhere that it’s only possible in the summer, just go for it.

I see my plants as tiny babies, in need of constant care and sunshine. They do bring me much joy so I don’t mind the work it takes. But not all plants need tons of care, some you only have to water perhaps once a week.

There are several benefits of having plants. Firstly, they are awesome at boosting your air quality. Especially the leafy ones. All plants help remove or decrease air pollution and toxins. Indoor air pollution can lead to something called sick building syndrome, which makes you feel dizzy, give you headaches, throat irritation and decreases your concentration. Some studies have shown that indoor plants removed high levels of benzene in the air, just within a day after introducing them to the house.

If you grow your own vegetables, you don’t have to worry about pesticides. Not only does your own produce often taste better than store-bought, it is more appealing to eat since you can see the entire growth before the harvest. When families grow their food, they promote a positive food environment and children are more likely to eat their vegetables if they can see and enjoy the growth it takes. Gardening is a great and simple way encourage both children and adults to eat healthy.

A psychological benefit of plants is that they improve your mood. In general, most people will feel more optimistic and happier when they are surrounded by nature and plants. Gardening is a way of reminding us of the connection we have with nature and helps us to be focused on a bigger picture. This can help with both depression and anxiety. It releases our happy-hormones dopamine and serotonin as well as working as a stress-reducer. Some even say that we work better while in close proximity to plants. And you know what? Being surrounded by greenery is linked to increased creative thinking! Though I might be biased, creative thinking is wonderful and more often than not, useful.

If you’re not yet convinced, let me end with this: plants have been shown to improve your overall well-being and reaction times, lower your blood pressure, increase your attentiveness, promote healing in hospitals and raise work productivity. Now please share in the comments which plants you’ll be getting (or which ones are your favorites)!

And if you haven’t already, make sure you subscribe to the blog! In an upcoming post I’ll share some of my favorite (and easiest) plants to have at home.

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