Unseen Passage: Health Benefits of Gardening

The act of gardening goes back thousands of years. If gardens are beautiful to look at, imagine the pride and sense of accomplishment that the creator of such beauty can feel.

Numerous studies have been undertaken which show that gardening offers many health related benefits. The most obvious benefit of gardening is that it can be a great way to relieve stress. Work, family commitments, and social engagements are just some of the things that take up chunks of peoples’ lives. Planning the garden and then caring for the garden offers the gardener a simple and inexpensive way to unwind and relax. Gardening can help a person clear the mind.

Another health related benefit of gardening is that when people tend to their gardens, they are getting exercise. Even an activity as simple as gardening can contribute towards weight loss. Gardening gets a person outdoors, exposed to natural air, and refocused on a pleasant activity.

Gardening also offers nutritional benefits to those who choose to plant a vegetable garden. Creating a vegetable garden is a way of ensuring that there is a continuous supply of fresh vegetables to consume. Vegetable gardeners know exactly where their produce is coming from and they also know exactly what chemicals were used to grow the produce. Eating more vegetables, and especially home-grown vegetables, is a simple way to ensure that a body is getting a proper balance of vitamins and nutrients.

And finally, some studies even report that people who are exposed to gardens and gardening recover more quickly from illnesses. It seems that for many people, gardening is just what the doctor ordered.

Gardening can be a creative experience as well. It’s one thing to throw some seeds down and then wait to see what grows. While gardening does not require that the participant have a degree in landscape architecture, a bit of planning will go a long way towards enhancing the beauty and the gardening experience overall.

And finally, the act of gardening teaches people the art of being patient. Unlike other activities, gardening does not produce instantaneous results. As such, a person who takes up gardening must wait for their rewards. Cut the flowers and vegetables, bring them inside and enjoy the sense of accomplishment that is gained from the benefit-rich activity called gardening !

Q. On the basis of your reading and understanding of the above passage, answer the following:

1. What are the two most important health-related benefits of gardening?
2. How does gardening help a person clear his or her mind?
3. When does a person know about the chemicals used to grow vegetables he or she eats?
4. Which human quality is enhanced through gardening ?
5. Identify the word in para 2 which means ‘obligation’.
   1. engagement
   2. unwind
   3. stress
   4. benefits
6. Which of the following words can replace the word ‘enhancing’ in para 6 ?
   1. improving
   2. intensifying
   3. increasing
   4. enriching
7. According to you, what are the uses of gardening? Mention any two.
8. What is the antonym of ‘instantaneous’ in para 7 ?

Answers

1. The two most important health-related benefits of gardening are : It relieves stress and contributes towards weight loss.
2. Planning the garden and then caring for it helps a person clear his or her mind.
3. A person knows about the chemicals used to grow vegetables only when he or she grows it in the garden.
4. The human quality of being patient is enhanced through gardening.
5. engagement
6. enriching
7. A garden can have aesthetic, functional, and recreational uses:
   1. Relaxation : Cottaging the busher, basking in warm sunshine.
   2. Growing useful produce : Fresh herbs and vegetables for cooking.
8. Delayed