On June 6, National Gardening Exercise Day, we honour the bodybuilding aspect of gardening by lifting up our trowels and toiling in our gardens! Not only is it extremely satisfying to cultivate your own flowers or herbs from seedling to blossom to mature plant, but it’s also excellent exercise! Any gardener will tell you that squatting to pull weeds or water a seedling will work up a sweat in your quadriceps. Moreover, labouring under the hot sun adds an additional physical challenge.
The background of National Gardening Exercise Day
The history of horticulture is so ancient and intertwined with agriculture that it can be difficult to distinguish between the two. Nevertheless, it is evident that the earliest enclosures in forests and wild areas were constructed as early as 10,000 B.C. ; humans used these enclosures as archaic landscaping and for food production. Mesopotamia is likely where the first true farms and gardens were established.
Nearly at the same time, gardening flourished everywhere in the world. While evidence of ancient rice cultivation was discovered in China in 7000 B.C., evidence of maize cultivation was discovered in Central America, etc. Different flora, fruits, and herbs sprang up and were domesticated and shared across the globe. By 1100 B.C., gardens had expanded beyond agricultural purposes, appearing in front of temples and around public structures.
Between 100 BC and 100 AD, horticulture, agriculture, and botany literature began to flourish. They portrayed everything from pastoral life and herbal remedies to garden-based waterworks. The letters described exquisite villa gardens brimming with domesticated and cultivated plants. As civilizations flourished,’scholar gardens’ and palace gardens reflected culture and governance. The study of botany and botanical gardens emerged in the 1600s.
In the past century, gardening has endured an overwhelming number of trends. The 1910s were characterised by World War I victory gardens and the influence of art nouveau, while the 1920s and 1930s were preoccupied with the market introduction of container plants. In the 1950s, the concept of the quintessential American backyard with a modest garden and manicured suburban lawn emerged.
Since the environmental awakening of the 1960s, sustainability and environmentalism have dominated a significant portion of horticulture. Numerous landscapers fantasise about gardens filled with native, low-maintenance plants, while succulents bask in the sun indoors. Despite the fact that gardens have evolved over the centuries, it is evident that people have always adored their plants!
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NATIONAL GARDENING EXERCISE DAY ACTIVITIES
Start gardening in your own backyard.
Whether it’s a succulent on your kitchen table or a flower box on your windowsill, you can have miniature gardens anywhere in your home! They embellish, purify the air, and give purpose to the lives of many people. While spritzing a finicky herb plant is not as strenuous as ploughing a farm’s fields, you can still incorporate more exercise into your gardening routine.
Check out a community garden.
Depending on one’s location, community gardens may be private. If you are fortunate enough to obtain one, make the most of it! If possible, walk to the community garden for additional exercise.
Make gardening an exercise
Today is the last day to dispose of any power gardening instruments. Try incorporating some lunges and stretches into your gardening regimen if you don’t already! Making both gardening and exercise a habit will increase your likelihood of sticking with them. Your body and your flora will be grateful.
5 FUN FACTS ABOUT GARDENING
It comes out that people who sing to their plants are not insane after all, as plants can hear your voice and the vibrations may stimulate plant growth.
Although you may not be able to grow a redwood on your balcony, it is still a fascinating fact that these giants grow primarily along the California coast.
Pollination is a crucial service that bees provide for plant health, despite the fact that we may not feel particularly secure with their presence in our gardens.
A gardener who tends to their plants for 30–45 minutes in the sun may expend up to 300 calories.
By recycling organic material into nutrients for the earth, these creepy-crawlies serve to purify the soil in which our plants grow.
NATIONAL GARDENING EXERCISE DAY DATES
Year | Date | Day |
---|---|---|
2023 | June 6 | Tuesday |
2024 | June 6 | Thursday |
2025 | June 6 | Friday |
2026 | June 6 | Saturday |
2027 | June 6 | Sunday |