If you are a gardener, this you all know how gardening helps you? Way to go gardener with your hobby.

image from YouTube 

     ​    Warm morning as it is 33 degrees at 7:00 AM but that is our high of today.  It is going to get colder as a cold front is passing thru.  Tonight, a low of 7.  Enjoy the warm morning is all I am going to say. 
Here is some reason to garden beside the joy it gives us.  It is a great hobby.  Soon you will be planting and all of this will be happening. 
The Many Benefits of Gardening by Robin Sweetser
Which hobby helps you live longer? Turns out it’s gardening! If you’re resolved to live a healthier lifestyle, eat better, and get more exercise, gardening can give you all that and more.
A recent study showed that people around the world who live longer, healthier lives have an unexpected commonality: gardening! As someone who already gardens, I’m not surprised.
There are so many benefits to starting even the smallest of gardens or caring for a few green friends:
Sense of accomplishment
The world around us may be chaotic but we can bring some sense of order to the garden, even if just for a little while. How rewarding it is to look out on a neatly weeded and mulched vegetable plot or a well-planned flower bed bursting with color! Being able to provide fresh fruits and veg for your dinner table is another huge accomplishment.
Fresh Food
Adding more fruits and veg to our diets is the first step to a healthier lifestyle. What could be better than eating freshly harvested food from your own garden! Growing your own gives you the opportunity to try new things. Who knew how delicious a tomato could be until you picked one and ate it warm right off the vine.
Mental Health
Working in your garden can be a meditative activity. A simple chore such as weeding, deadheading, picking beans, or spreading mulch provides time to calm down, decompress and empty your mind of stressful thoughts. Gardening gives you a chance to live in the moment. Slow down, take time to observe the plants and insects, and be mindful of the chore at hand instead of worrying about a myriad of things beyond your control. It can be very therapeutic.
Exercise
Working in the garden can be as strenuous as you want to make it. Instead of using the wheelbarrow, carry 2 buckets to fill and lug, making sure your load is evenly distributed. Dig and hoe by hand instead of using a rototiller. Put away the noisy leafblower and pick up a rake. Build a stone wall. Squatting and lifting, bending and twisting. The garden can be your green gym.
Money-saving
Growing even a small plot of the vegetables that your family likes to eat can save you a boatload of money. Your home-raised organic produce is a valuable commodity especially when you compare it to the price of organic veg in the grocery store.
Peace of mind
Knowing where your food comes from and what went into it means you won’t have to second guess the safety of your food. No worries about recalled lettuce or pesticide-laden strawberries. Take food security a step further by preserving some of your seasonal bounty for later use. If there is a snowstorm or truckers go out on strike you will still have food in your pantry to fall back on.
All in the Family
Get the kids involved! Not only is it important for them to know where their food comes from, studies have shown that children are more likely to eat what they have helped grow—and even kids are happier when they garden!
Oh sure, they may whine and complain at first but eventually the lure of soil and water and the antics of birds, bees, and butterflies will entertain them. They will be learning important life skills and may grow up to be better stewards of the planet. At the very least it will get them off the couch and out in the fresh air for a bit.
Other studies have shown that couples who garden together last longer together, too.
Lifelong Learning
There is always something new to be learned in the garden. Keep your mind sharp by closely observing nature in all its intricacies. What plants are certain bees are attracted to? Why are some flowers so similar while others are so different? How is a sudden change in the weather going to affect my garden? Lessons in botany, entomology, meteorology, and more are just outside your door.
Taken from https://www.almanac.com/8-reasons-why-vegetable-garden-makes-us-happy-and-healthy
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa  beckmall@netins.net  641-794-3337  cell 641-903-9365