HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?
PLANTS THAT PROMOTE HEALTH

The pleasures of a pastoral vista or your own patio garden are manifold. Fragrance, beauty and a reminder of the good earth are all reasons to sink our hands into a depth of topsoil, screen it and plant.

A great reason to indulge the gardening bug is the potential to plant a living and thriving basket of health. Our harvest doesn’t have to be big to be healthy.

Plants are healthy by their very “life” in our environments. While researching plants I found facts about plants. I learned that plants naturally emit oxygen while they absorb and remove toxins from the air.

The magic ability of plants to do this is something I had forgotten. I also learned that a lot of medicines and herbs are made from plants, and they are used to heal the body in many ways.

I have been reading a great book called “How to grow fresh air: 50 houseplants that purify your home or office” by Dr. B.C. Wolverton. This book has beautiful photographs and information on plants that clean the air, as well as the specific chemicals each plant removes from the air.

My favorite plant from the book is the peace lily. Not only does the name help to relax, but the plant has a peaceful appearance with great air purification ability.

Caring for a plant in your home can provide a natural form of air purification. Plants emit oxygen and moisture into the air, and at the same time they absorb carbon dioxide and toxic chemicals. This is especially healing for people with breathing problems and illnesses.

Plants promote both physical and psychological health and are a healthy addition to any place where human beings dwell.

Examples of food with medicinal qualities are vegetables and fruits which offer us phytonutrients which are immune boosters. The fruits and vegetables which include these phytonutrients are carrots berries, tomatoes, soy bean, oranges and many green vegetables, including beet tops.

Gardens are therapeutic by their very nature. We tend them and exercise, we spend time outdoors, we lovingly select seeds and nurture our plants indoors and outdoors for the pleasure of seeing them thrive.

For oxygen, nutrients, and to begin a process of lessening dependency on commercial or foreign food sources, start a plot, a box, an acre or a meadow worth of vegetation. Here are some excellent gardening sites”

How to Start a New Garden
http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenprimer/ss/NewGarden.htm

How to Start a Vegetable Garden
http://www.ehow.com/how_110539_start-vegetable-garden.html

How to Start an Indoor Garden
http://www.readersdigest.ca/homegarden/

How to start an Herb Garden
http://www.pier55.com/Home-Garden/Start-Herb-Garden.shtml

How to create a Meadow
http://www.englishplants.co.uk/sowmeadow.html

You don’t have to come from pioneer stock to be a great gardener, and you can be a healthier and more selective cook with produce and herbs you grow yourself.