This week has been Mental Health Awareness Week and this year they have focused on the power of nature to help maintain your mental health. Who doesn’t feel better in the fresh air and sunshine, it has a beneficial effect on our physical as well as mental health.
But so many of us rush through our time outside, going from one place to another trying to pack in as much to the time as , when what we should do is just stop and breathe. I love to sit in my garden with my eyes closed and try to distinguish one birds song from another. By trying to concentrate on just one, you focus your mind away from all the other distractions and you have the satisfaction of being able to identify that song again.
I’m quite a keen gardener and find feeling the earth between my fingers does wonders for my stress and anxiety levels. A stroll around the garden of an evening, just checking on my plants, calms me and gets me ready for sleep. But there is a growing trend away from gardens where plants grow to ‘outdoor living spaces’ where sometimes there is no living thing except the humans. I have to hold my hand up and says this is one of the things that really annoys me. Fake grass, composite decking, weed resistant membrane, artificial plants, how can this be called a garden when every living thing has been evicted. The move towards these sterile spaces not only upsets the balance of nature but also your mental well being. How can you get in touch with the natural world when even insects don’t visit your space Most people will use maintenance as an excuse for their choice but really, a small square of grass doesn’t take much maintenance and a few pots of bedding plants or herbs or even hardy shrubs will encourage nature back into the garden.
This weekend I am going to combine the two things that can really help you unwind from the stresses of daily life – nature and crafting, I’m going to make a crochet plant hanger!
What Kate Made Today 