At Tanby Garden Centre we are starting to make preparations for the Garden Releaf weekend in early March (www.gardenreleaf.com.au). A weekend to raise funds for beyondblue, and to acknowledge the physical and mental health benefits of getting into the garden.
So it was particularly relevant to read in this week’s The Weekend Australian magazine about gardening identity Peter Cundall who teaches war veterans “how to dig their emotions into the earth. How to find relief and reward in sowing and harvesting, in nurturing: the opposites of war.” In the article Peter says “after a day of big tensions, you shove it all in the soil. You can feel it go in. And as you turn the earth, it releases something back to you, like a natural anti-depressant.”
The benefits of contact with nature are now well accepted, and for those without gardens the enjoyment of any green space is beneficial. Even a walk around the garden centre here can be a calming experience, so please feel welcome.
