April is National Garden Month, and with spring finally here, that warmer weather is the perfect excuse to exercise that green thumb of yours. Whether you’re an avid gardener or want to give it a try for the first time, here’s the top 10 reasons you should start gardening in April:
- Curb appeal: a well manicured yard and the presence of a lush garden can add to your home’s curb appeal, and ultimately add to an increase in home value. Be the envy of the neighbourhood by exercising your green thumb!
- Healthier food: imagine if having fresh produce every day was as simple as walking out to your backyard? Growing vegetables and fruits in your garden isn’t just convenient, it makes for a healthier lifestyle when you’re feeding your family fresh produce every day.
- Saving money: if you didn’t have to buy herbs or produce from the grocery store every week, you’d probably be saving yourself a lot of money. Starting those spring seeds this month will bring you delicious vegetables and herbs this summer.
- Exercise: you may not know this, but gardening has been shown to burn an amazing amount of calories and provide great exercise. Interestingly enough, some studies have shown that gardeners have higher bone density as well.
- Happier moods: in addition to being a benefit for your physical health, gardening is a therapeutic activity as well, benefiting stress levels and increasing happiness in those who partake.
- It helps the environment: planting a garden benefits the entire ecosystem, helping our environment in return. Many people find that being conscious of your own food and plants will make you less likely to use pesticides as well.
- Composting: are you somebody who composts now? If you had a garden, you probably would, which would make you more active in keeping even more items out of our landfills. Reusing compost in your own garden is a great practice!
- Rain barrels: another eco-friendly practice of gardening is to start using rain barrels, which allows you to collect rainfall and reuse it to water your garden. Ultimately, utilizing a rain barrel is allowing you to cut down on water consumption which will save energy, water and money as well.
- Family time: gardening can become an excellent family-building activity, especially in the springtime. Getting your kids involved in planting seeds, weeding and watering of a garden will not only allow your family to spend more time together, but also teach them about nature and ecosystems.
- Community building: many neighbourhoods employ the use of community gardens to build relationships with their neighbours and create opportunities as well. A community garden could provide a food supply, an activity for children and neighbours to partake in, and a number of other benefits.
If you’re looking to kick-start your gardening this month, HGTV has a great guide on gardening to-dos for April.
