Take a Breath. Step Outside. Notice. Connect.
Your garden is more than a patch of green or a list of jobs waiting to be done. It’s a living, breathing space that can hold you, restore your wellbeing and remind you of your place in the rhythm of the natural world.
When we pause long enough to notice — really notice — we see that our gardens are always giving. A flower that opens, a bird that visits, the scent of soil after rain. And when we give back to the garden, even in small ways, the return is tenfold: peace, joy, inspiration and a sense of belonging that stays with us long after we’ve come indoors.
The simple acts of planting, pruning, or pausing with a cup of tea among the flowers can be transformative. Tending to the garden is, in many ways, a practice of tending to yourself.
What We Notice
Over the years of working alongside people in their gardens, we’ve noticed two patterns that come up again and again.
A desire to reconnect
Many people tell us they love their garden, yet they haven’t felt truly present with it for some time. Life gets busy, the seasons slip by, and suddenly the garden feels more like another responsibility than a refuge. Sometimes this happens during a life transition, retirement, grief, recovery, or change — when we instinctively look for something steady to hold us. Other times it’s simply the feeling of being stretched too thin, craving the calm that only nature provides.
A lack of confidence
Others share how much they want to enjoy their garden, but instead feel stuck by uncertainty. They’ve bought a plant but aren’t sure where to put it. They’d love to refresh a tired border, grow food, or bring in more wildlife — but don’t know where to start, or worry about making mistakes. What we notice most of all is this: whether the need is for inner calm or practical knowledge, both are really about the same thing — restoring a living, reciprocal relationship with your garden.
Re-building your relationship with your garden
Gardening for Wellbeing
Spending time in gardens is proven to support your wellbeing:
Reduces stress and boosts mood
Regular contact with nature can lower cortisol (the stress hormone) and boosts mood. → Mind, 2018; University of Essex, 2016
Improves focus and energy
Just 20 minutes in a garden can increase vitality and restore attention → Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2010
Enhances creativity and presence
Gardening engages the senses, calms the nervous system, and promotes flow, supporting mindfulness and inspiration. Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory
Builds a deeper connection with what matters
Nature-based practices can increase life satisfaction and a sense of meaning, even after short sessions. → University of Derby Nature Connectedness Research, 2020.
If you’re seeking calm, balance, or a way to reconnect with yourself, tailored one-to-one gardening wellbeing sessions can bring nature-based self-care right to your garden. Whether you’re navigating a life change or feeling overwhelmed, calm conversation and simple, sensory gardening activities guided by an experienced horticultural therapist can ease stress, restore rhythm, and help you feel lighter and more grounded.
Gardening with confidence
Whether a complete beginner or a seasoned gardener, we’re bombarded with advice, tips and information, from garden centres and text books to social media and YouTube videos. But none of it is personal to you or your garden.
These are some of the common things clients often say to us
- “I’d love to know how to care for my garden, but I’m unsure where to start or when to do what.”
- “I’d love to improve my border but need help knowing what plants will work in my garden conditions.”
- “I’d love to bring more wildlife into the garden but don’t know how.”
- “I’d love to grow food and reduce my environmental footprint but need advice to make it work.”
Online or hands-on practical courses delivered by reputable training providers might provide the background knowledge you are looking for, but can be expensive and are not tailored to individual needs. One size doesn’t fit all.
If you’re seeking confidence in a specific area of gardening and want to develop new skills to complement what you already know, one-to-one gardening support can be far more effective. It provides tailored hands-on guidance in your own space, at your own pace. When delivered by an experienced gardener with empathetic coaching skills you can explore what to plant, how to care for it, and the simple seasonal steps that make your garden thrive. It’s not about doing the work for you, but gardening alongside you so you feel confident, inspired, and more at home in your garden.
A Garden That Nurtures Both Ways
At GreenArt we understand that whether you come to your garden for peace of mind or for practical knowledge, the outcome is the same: a stronger, more reciprocal relationship with the natural world right outside your door.
That’s why we have developed two new 1-to-1 gardening services:
Gardening for Wellbeing – Led by a qualified horticultural wellbeing therapist and delivered as a programme of three or six gentle 90 minute 1-to-1 sessions in your own garden, they are designed to help you slow down, breathe, connect and feel more grounded.
It’s less about chores, more about finding calm, resilience, and renewal in your garden.
Gardening Coaching – delivered by friendly and experienced gardeners showing you how to do the jobs you want to learn and helping to build your confidence so you can care for your garden yourself. This service is available either as an individual 90-minute ‘Garden MOT’ or three, one hour personalised training sessions.
Get in touch if you’d like to book a Gardening for Wellbeing Discovery call or try out our new Gardening Coaching session with a Garden MOT We’d love to hear from you and help more people feel better connected to their gardens.
