WE all know now how good gardening is for our mental health.
There are even bacteria in the soil that boost serotonin — another “feelgood” hormone like which is also associated with pleasure.
Writer Amy Chapman became so enamoured with gardening’s mental health benefits, she wrote a book about itCredit: Unknown
Amy Chapman became so enamoured with its benefits, she wrote a book on it. With 52 tasks, for any-size spaces, Dopamine gives you a job for every week of the year, meant to make you happy.
She told me: “I used to be permanently anxious, but then I moved to a cottage in Pembrokeshire. It had a lovely, massively overgrown garden I thought I ought to take care of.
“Instantly, even just through weeding and things like that, I noticed the benefits to my mental health.
“It made an instant impact.
“I felt better pretty much overnight, which is crazy. So that’s what got me hooked.”
Amy, 28, who lives on a houseboat and has the Insta handle @inthecottagegarden, added: “I didn’t want to write a book that was just about growing vegetables.
“It was more about how it is going to help your . I have a lot of conversations with people who haven’t started gardening or want to garden but get really overwhelmed by it.
“My book is just like, ‘Here’s a fun idea, try this’. Like new little ways to pique people’s interest and get them into gardening in a way that they might not have thought about before.”
lDopamine Gardening, £22, is out now (Harper Collins).
AMY’S TOP TWO TIPS
- GROW chamomile from a tea bag: Cheap chamomile teabags are usually made from harvesting chamomile with massive machines. Some of the flowers will be past their best, so the teabags end up being full of viable chamomile seeds, which you can sprinkle on to some soil. In time you will have chamomile plants.
- GROW mushrooms on used coffee grounds: Buy some mushroom grain spawn and mix it in to your coffee grounds. Put them in a bucket or bag. Wait for the mycelium (fungi) to colonise it and then make holes in it and mushrooms will start to grow.
Also in Veronica's Column this week....
Top tips, gardening news, Plant of the Week and a dahlia bundles competition
For more gardening content, follow me @biros_and_bloom
SAVE! MAKE your lawn look neat and tidy with a half moon edger. Try Burgon & Balls’ £27.99 one from Sam Turner & Sons, left, or Wickes has a version for £11, right.
WIN! OUR friends at Westland Horticulture are offering TWO winners a lawncare bundle worth over £130, including PureGreen lawn seed 50m, SafeLawn liquid feed, lawn seeding soil, a lawn aerator and a scarifying rake.
To enter, see thesun.co.uk/WESTLANDLAWN or write to Sun Westland Lawn competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP.
Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm on March 28. T&Cs apply.
LEARN! Q) I’M growing dahlias for the first time. Should I plant them now?
Reg Harris, Ashford, Surrey
A) Start them off first in a free greenhouse or sunny windowsill. Use 2-3litre pots with potting compost.
Place the tuber with the stem end up, cover with 1-2in of compost, and water lightly until shoots appear.
Then, get them in the ground late May when all chance of frost has passed. Don’t overwater otherwise they’ll rot.
THIS WEEK’S JOB! GET your plant supports in now before your climbers accelerate in the better weather. Feed roses, shrubs, hedges, and prune jasmine after flowering.
HOWDY HEVER! HEVER Castle, childhood home of Anne Boleyn, is launching a brand new daffodil variety.
Grown for the Kent estate by Taylors Bulbs, Lincs, the Hever Castle bloom will be unveiled on Monday to mark the start of the week-long Dazzling Daffodils event, where visitors can enjoy thousands of flowers. See hevercastle.co.uk .
PLANT OF THE WEEK! PINK bergenia cordifolia ‘Purpurea’, above, is great for shady spots. For 20 per cent off, see thompson-morgan.com/sunoffers . T&Cs apply.
NEWBIES WILL DIG SCHEME! BRITISH Garden Centres launches its Make It Bloom spring campaign on Monday – a three-month initiative to help new gardeners discover their green fingers.
Running until the end of May, it aims to support every gardener, whether you’re nurturing your first plant or tending a thriving outdoor space.
Lucy Hewitt, of British Garden Centres, said: “Whether you’ve never planted anything before or you’re looking to expand your skills, the Make It Bloom campaign offers friendly, jargon-free advice that makes gardening accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
“The campaign is designed to help you create the outdoor space you’ve always dreamed of.”
For more details, see britishgardencentres.com .
- FOR Mother’s Day, spoil your green-fingered mum with a gift from Genus Gardening, a technical clothing brand founded by Sue O’Neil. See genus.gs .
Eze Chidiebere Paul
I'm dedicated to creating high-quality content that informs, inspires, and delights. If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to get in touch. Happy reading!
