Garden(ing) as a Stress Reliever.

Everyone knows that getting your hands dirty and getting stuck into a bit of gardening is a fantastic stress reducer (unless Quack Grass is involved, then it is a stress inducer!). I often find myself lingering in the garden and purposefully taking on lengthy or putzy tasks when I’m stressed out by work or something else. It calms me, diverts my thoughts, and leaves me feeling, at the very least, a bit more settled.

This week has been the sort of week that would have been much improved by being able to be in the garden for a few hours. Between work issues and a misbehaving furnace, my tension levels are high and I’m fidgety and unsettled. But alas, everything is under a blanket of snow and frozen solid.

No outlet.

I often wonder then, what do you Northern gardeners do for stress remediation when you can’t garden? Oh, I know there are other hobbies, but none of them seem to soothe the way gardening does. Maybe I need to move South after all… Something about being able to dig in the dirt in December does feel mighty decadent! And if you answer is cocktails, you best be posting a link to the recipe!