Winter Garden, Inner Growth

By April Guilbault

Outside, the Noah Kahan song “Stick Season” is taking on new meaning. The once verdant lawn gets nightly visits from sneaky ol' Mr. Frost, and your feet crunch on each blade in the morning. Crunch, crunch, crackle. The landscape has chosen a palette of browns, whites, and grays. Quite the change from a few short months ago. 

Inside, though, with our homes and ourselves, the fires still burn bright, albeit more of a winter’s comforting smolder. In living with the seasons, it’s reassuring that there are always ways to connect with our natural world, and in doing so, we help ourselves to weather them in positive ways for our physical and mental health.

How to stay in tune to the outdoors when it is indoor season? 

Journaling
In addition to helping with depression and anxiety, which the darker days can cause for many people, journaling can also help you stay motivated and boost your self-confidence. When creating and adding to a garden journal, creativity and learning can benefit your brain! Maybe you draw out a dream garden, plot out new additions to your garden bed, recap last season’s “wins and losses”, learn about new plants, set goals for the next growing season. 

Have a plant swap or purchase a few new plants to nurture
To aid our health during prolonged time spent indoors, while plants will not perform as well as an air purifier, they do still work to clean our indoor air, per NASA. Through photosynthesis and transpiration, they work to filter the air and can also reduce stress and improve mood. They can increase humidity in a dry environment, which is great for staving off colds. Live plants in your home also lower blood pressure and help you feel more relaxed, stimulate your senses when you look/smell/feel them, and reduce fatigue and aid healing.
Some houseplants to consider that are user-friendly are: Spider plant, Snake plant, Peace lily, aloe vera, Boston fern, English ivy, Rubber plant, Golden Pathos, Bamboo palm, Dracaena, Areca Palm, Gerbera Daisy, Philodendron, Weeping Fig, Chinese Evergreen.

Plant an indoor herb garden
Like houseplants, herbs can help lower your blood pressure, boost your immune system (both by being around them and consuming them), reduce inflammation in the body and as a bonus, they are cost effective, so they are even healthy for your wallet. While it’s not really outdoor gardening time, it still can be inside! Start small, a few little pots on a sunny windowsill. Grown from seed, the best ones to grow indoors are: basil, cilantro, parsley, chervil, rosemary, bay laurel, mint, chives, oregano, thyme, sage, and lemongrass. Generally they need 4-6 hours of direct sunlight, however parsley, chives and mint require less and rosemary, thyme and bay may need extra light from a grow light (think mediterranean, arid environment).

Visit area greenhouses
Being exposed to sun and light at this time of year will increase your Vitamin D levels and improve your mood by increasing your serotonin levels. Add to that, flowers and greenery just make people happy. That Earthy connection reduces depression and anxiety. Even the color green is relaxing to our systems.
Ah, the sun! How we miss the heat and the sun during the darker days of winter! To step into a greenhouse when it is frosty cold outside is a sublime experience; heat, humidity, fragrance, the smell of soil, the sun through the windows. Time well spent roaming the rows of greens.

Explore the wide world of seeds
Having a focus on something that needs attention and nurturing is a great way to beat the doldrums of the dark winter and it’s also your own little bit of Earth when things are frozen over. Indoor months are THE months to explore starting seedlings. Joy! Start with a few seeds, a few trays (or even makeshift seed trays like eggshells, egg cartons, compostable cups), maybe you even jump in and get grow lights. Be ready when Spring springs!

Floral crafts
Creativity can help lessen the dreaded winter blues by reducing stress, giving us an outlet for expression, and over-all lessening the effects of SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder. If you’ve been on Pinterest or in any store these days, the name of the game these days is all things floral. What a great way to bring the enjoyment and colorful beauty of the growing season to the winter months! Try flower pressing, drawing, or making wreaths and arrangements, cards, jewelry, desserts, and bath and beauty products with dried/pressed flowers. See etsy.com or many other online vendors/stores for resources.

Head to a winter farmers’ market. In addition to getting you out of your house on a regular basis where you will see members of your like-minded community (therefore combating solitude), you’ll  be supporting local farmers during the quieter season and enjoying truly local produce, which is both healthier and tastier for your winter table. Some helpful websites:
www.usdalocalfoodportal.com

To be informed about what to look for/ask at Farmers’ Markets:
www.safefruitsandveggies.com/farmers-market-guide

And questions to ask at Farmers’ Markets regarding Farm Animal Welfare:
www.aspca.org/shopwithyourheart


i