5 Benefits of Gardening for Seniors

How an Elevated Garden Bed Keeps Seniors Vegetable Gardening

One of the main reasons we started our company was to make sure Grandma could keep vegetable gardening. We built her an elevated garden bed because she could no longer stoop, crawl, or kneel to tend to her vegetables. Our mission, in part, is to make sure more people can keep gardening into their golden years.

Did you know that gardening is the #1 hobby in the United States? People over the age of 65 are the fastest growing population in the United States and most of them have had gardening as part of their lives. Here are some of the benefits seniors experience from gardening:

1. Purpose: Gardening gives seniors a sense of purpose and duty, which pays off with delicious fresh vegetables and beautiful flowers.
2. Better Health: Moving around the garden is a great way to get exercise. And eating fresh vegetables is part of a healthy diet.
3. Community: Adding a garden, like an Eco Garden Systems’ Original Garden, to senior centers can help boost that sense of purpose and provide more opportunities for socializing.
4. Mental Stimulation: Gardening helps slow down or even stave off dementia and can improve overall mental health.
5. Better Quality of Life: Being in nature helps increase everyone’s well-being. A 2016 review of over 76 gardening and wellness studies showed that the health benefits from just one gardening session persisted for three months (imagine if you garden every day!!).

Our Eco Garden Systems’ Original Garden will keep seniors growing vegetables, even as age begins to limit mobility. The elevated garden bed sits at a comfortable height so you can garden without bending or stooping. Plus, the garden is compact enough that it can fit in small, urban areas—like a senior center or assisted living facility.

If you’re a caregiver or lead senior center activities, consider what adding an Eco Garden could do for the health of your residents and loved ones. And the garden is perfect for seniors who are at home and looking for an easier way to garden.

For more gardening tips, and to follow a senior gardener as she navigates her Eco Garden, watch our vegetable growing adventures on Thursdays With Mother.

Tell us: How has gardening improved your health or the health of a loved one?