40 Creative Gardening Examples People Shared On This Facebook Group With 1.1M Members

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic when lockdowns put millions out of work and headlines forecast food shortages, anxious Americans picked up their rakes and spades. With no social gatherings and so much time spent at home, many people (re)discovered a new kind of hobby– gardening. What happened was incredible: in a matter of a couple of weeks, seeds, seedlings, and fruit trees sold out in gardening shops.

It’s the feeling of well-being gained from nurturing and being amongst plants and greenery that became the main reason why people in lockdown started it. But the surveys show that many of them have kept their gardening bug even after returning to work, meaning the boom is likely to stay.

Unsurprisingly, “More than half of those we surveyed said they felt isolated, anxious and depressed during the early days of the pandemic,” Ossola wrote and added that “Yet more than 75% also found immense value in gardening during that same period.”

“Whether done in cities or out in the country, gardening was almost universally described as a way to either relax, socialize, connect with nature or stay active,” the professor explained.

The survey results showed that gardening offered a place of comfort unlike anything else during that chaotic time. “Most gardeners seemed to either experience a heightened sense of joy and reassurance or feel more attuned to the natural world. This seemed to have positive therapeutic and psychological benefits, regardless of age or location,” Ossola explained.

Ossola hopes that gardening, a hobby born out of unique circumstances will not recede into the background any time soon. “Gardening shouldn’t be something that’s only taken up in times of crises. If anything, the pandemic showed how gardens serve a public health need – that they’re not only places of beauty or sources of food, but also conduits for healing,” he stated in a piece for The Conversation.