Research has shown that having regular exposure to plants and green spaces can radically reduce your stress levels and put you in a better mood! After a long day at the office or a hectic day with the kids it's great to be able relax and enjoy our own green space. Get out and about.

From time to time we all feel anxious, under pressure or stressed. Vegetation and natural scenes can have a very positive effective and help you with these feelings. It may sound surprising but as little as 2 or 3 minutes in the company of plants and trees or natural environments can be enough to provide measurable stress relief! The same effect can be made in the work place with houseplants or outside pots and containers making staff more productive and less likely to take time off sick.

Get out and about. . .

We are all inspired and encouraged to try and lead a more healthier lifestyle. Why not get out and about using what we like to call free 'green gyms' which include places like your local park, inner city squares and public gardens. Even if it is just walk in the park on a Sunday afternoon, walking the dog or a fun family outing playing a game of football or rounders with the kids, get out and about and enjoy the outdoors!

Gardening is also an excellent all-round exercise, utlising all the major muscle groups of the body. It can help tone muscles, protect your heart and is good for your bones.

30 minutes of gardening can use as many calories as a 30 minute aerobic workout, and whats better is that you and your family can enjoy the end results.

Reduce noise and air pollutants

Large specimens of trees and conifers can help block out noise from nearby busy roads and even noisy neighbours as well as provide habitat and food for birds and small animals.

The air inside our homes and offices can be up to ten times more polluted that the air outside! This is where houseplants come into their own not only making you feel good but absorbing pollutants. Take a look at our hints and tips section on houseplants.

Plants absorb various pollutants from the air to improve air quality. These pollutants include toxins from modern man-made furniture, MDF, paints, varnishes, new carpets and enve emissions from PCs. Nowadays air pollutants are increasingly linked things such as asthma and various plants can be an effective air filter to help this such as Chrysantehmums, Spider Plants, and English Ivy.

It's easy to get your daily intake of plants to invigorate you just try some of the following:

Get your greens . . .

• Introduce more house plants into your home and perhaps even keep a plant on your desk at work.
  
• As little as 1-2 hours gardening per day, along with other forms of moderate physical leisure activity can help reduce coronary heart disease and other chronic illnesses.
  
• Get off the bus a stop early on your way home and then walk the scenic route – the perfect way to unwind after a stressful day at work.
  
• Taking the time to enjoy green spaces at the weekend. You don’t need to don your wellies and pick up a spade – a simple walk in the park will do.
  
• Encourage your boss to supply plants in the workplace – both inside and out. Even the view of trees and plants can help. In offices and factories, having a green view out of the window has been found to buffer the effects of work-related stress on a person’s intention to leave their job.
  
• Encourage children out into the garden. Spending only 20 minutes in ordinary ‘green’ settings such as the back garden or the park reduces the symptoms of ADHD when compared to time spent in non-green indoor playgrounds or concrete and asphalt recreation areas. It's also a great form of free exercise!
  
• Try growing herbs on your kitchen windowsill. Not only will you have a fresh supply handy for cooking, but the sight and aroma of them will ensure that you are not plant-deprived.
  
• There is also mounting evidence that looking out over views of trees and plants while in hospital can help speed your recovery and reduce the amount of severe post-operative pain you feel.

Gardens a Growing Investment

Gardens are also seen as an extension to your home and research shows that a well kept garden can increase the value of your property.

As part of the recent Plant for Life First Impression guide, market reserch with estate agents demonstrated that a well maintained front garden can add as much as £5,000 to the value of the property. Nearly all (97%) estate agents agree that a well maintained front gardencan help a property seem more appealing to buyers. *

Gardening is good for you so get stuck in with
the help of Plant forLife!

* The data draws upon the results of consumer research undertaken by the HTA in January 2008 when a representative sample of 500 estate agents were interviewed on behalf of the HTA by Ciao Surveys