Taking care of your garden is a necessary home task, but creating a thriving outdoor environment is also advantageous. From looks to sound to safety, here are seven ways your garden can help you make the most of your property.
1. Keep Everyone Safe
It’s vital to make safety a top priority. The world is scary, especially if you have children and pets who don’t always know the best decisions for their well-being. There are several ways your garden can keep you safe.
Your property is the best place for your kids to play. They are in their own environment and are less likely to be around strange people or animals. Unlike a public area, your garden makes it easy to identify where your kids and pets are at all times, giving you the confidence to let them explore.
In your garden, you can control what you have to make things as safe but enjoyable as possible. You can install security cameras to monitor for intruders, put up a privacy fence or grow shrubs to contain kids and keep things out of sight from noisy neighbours or suspicious individuals. When you have a garden, you can also control what plants and play equipment you have around to protect your household best.
2. Help You Eat Healthier
When you have a garden, you can grow your own fruits and vegetables. Whether you plant them in the ground or containers, with a bit of hard work, you’ll have fresh produce in no time.
It’s not only a positive to shop in your backyard, but the taste encourages everyone to take a bite out of your plants. Locally-grown food tastes better than harvested crops that travel to get to your local supermarket.
With a yummy taste, both adults and children might be keen to try new foods — this is especially true for children if they help grow the food. When kids are encouraged to participate in each step of the meal preparation process, they are more likely to taste the result at least.
Depending on your garden’s size and location, you could raise chickens or grow grain, creating many healthy, unprocessed food options.
3. Save You Money
There are many ways a garden can save you money. When you grow your own food, it can save you hundreds of pounds each year. You can also save money on energy bills by strategically planting shrubs around your home that keep its temperature naturally cooler.
On the other hand, you can keep your home warmer by landscaping near windows to maximise the amount of sunlight that naturally warms your home. Extra natural light could also reduce the amount of artificial light you depend on, reducing your electricity bill.
If you have kids and pets, they need plenty of opportunities to play and explore. Your garden is a free way for them to do that. A well-maintained garden lets them play in a place that’s fun for them and you won’t have to pay an admission fee.
4. Keep Things Quiet
Plants are a natural way to add soundproofing outside your home to give you and your family peace. Put shrubs around your house to create a thicker barrier between you and the outside world. The greenery absorbs many soundwaves before they reach your interior, giving you a quieter home to enjoy.
A soundproof home also helps your family enjoy more quality time together. You can get louder without worrying as much about your neighbours hearing you. If you want to test the difference your plants make, turn on a device or have a family member make loud noises and step outside.
Plants aren’t the only ways to add soundproofing to your garden — a thick fence can also create sound insulation around your home’s perimeter. A water feature or a windchime also helps by distracting your mind from more intrusive noise. The freedom will help you stress less about noises in your home, freeing more time for games, barking, surround sound and laughter.
5. Helps You Relax
Nature has some powerful destressing abilities and you can take full advantage of them by creating a relaxing, meditative garden. Lavender, chamomile and eucalyptus can fill your garden with calming scents that remind you of a spa. Benches, sofa sets and properly-secured hammocks can create an excellent space to relax and unwind while enjoying the sun and breathing in the fresh air.
Planting and maintaining flowers and crops is a relaxing activity that many enjoy. It helps you be mindful of the task at hand, which can help you forget or put aside the day’s stress. After that, you can enjoy peaceful sounds from birds, wind chimes and water features.
Research shows being in natural light can boost your mood and decrease symptoms of many mental health conditions. Spending a lot of time in your garden can help you live a calmer, healthier life.
6. Encourages Exercise
When you have a garden, it’s much easier for the whole family to exercise outside. It gives pets a safe place to run around, your kids a nice area to spread out and play, and you the perfect opportunity to move by landscaping and participating in outdoor exercises.
It’s a great place to get energy out and have a healthier body. Spending time in the garden is a perfect place to escape the screens that consume you and enjoy the fresh air.
You can put almost anything in your garden for your family to enjoy, including pools, hot tubs, jungle gyms and basketball courts. Depending on your family’s preferences, you can create a yard you know everyone will want to use.
Exercise doesn’t just provide entertainment and physical health — it can also boost everyone’s mental state. Exercising releases feel-good endorphins that can help everyone better regulate their mood and live a happier life.
7. Lets You Get Creative
Your garden can be anything you want it to be and is the perfect creative outlet. Maybe you’ll take inspiration for paintings or poems, or experiment with different colours through your flowers and plants. Incorporate whatever inspires you in your garden.
With work-from-home jobs being more common, a garden is a great place to embrace the scenery, get inspiration and finish tasks. When it’s your property, you can take full advantage of your little slice of nature.
Helping Your Garden Help You
A garden is a wonderful addition to your home and there are many things you can do to help it improve your and your family’s lives. Consider these seven reasons for building a garden today.
Rose Morrison is a home living writer with over five years experience writing in the industry. She is the managing editor of Renovated.com and loves to cover home renovations and decor to inspire everyone to live their best DIY life. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find her baking something to satisfy her never-ending sweet tooth.