Now the Spring has arrived and our surroundings are filling with colour, nature is in bloom, gardening is the perfect hobby for so anyone to enjoy!
Not only in pruning and planting a great way to spend time in your gardens, soaking up the sun and enjoying nature, it is also proven to boost well-being.
If you really want to make your garden a joyful place to spend time, how about planting some of these mood-boosting plants, proven to bring cheer and happiness into your lives.
Chocolate Cosmos
This flower produced beautiful large flowers all through the Summer which has a soft vanilla/chocolate scent. Although they are not edible for us, cosmos is a great flower for bees and butterflies and will draw the nature into your gardens. with their tall stems, these also make wonderful cut flowers to fill your home with their sweet fragrance.
Lavender
For hundreds and thousands of years, lavender has been used for herbal medications due to its ability to calm and soothe parts of our parasympathetic nervous system. Lavender is used to control blood pressure, breathing rhythm and hormone secretion, improving the quality of sleep and soothing emotions. Grow some lavender in your gardens its long lasting flowers can be cut to make a perfect companion for your bedside table.
Roses
Have you ever hear the saying ‘Stop and smell the roses’…? These timeless beauties with large flowers can easily bring joy to anyone looking at them. Their intricate flower heads and blooming bright colours add cheer to any garden or patio. Their pleasant fragrance has the fantastic ability to lift one’s mood.
Daphne
These evergreen small shrubs stay compact, making them perfect for a small garden or a patio pot. Their pink flowers last throughout the Summer and are beautiful fragrant. Smell is the most instinctive of our senses, with the ability to delve into memories of our childhood or brighten your mood.
Houseplants
Indoor plants are well known to improve the mood and well-being. Their rich colour and air purifying qualities help people feel relaxed in their homes, with something beautiful to look at. Peace Lilies are known to purify the air, and Sansevieria (Mother in Law's Tongue or Snake Plants), release oxygen into the air at night, perfect for a bedroom.
These are just a few options for mood-boosting plants you can consider adding to your gardens and homes this Spring, but there are so many other options to choose from! Flowers bring a sense of hope and joy, and bright colours are crucial to recalling positive memories which is beneficial to our mental well-being.