Peter Dowdall: Why gardening boosts our mental health

When we step into the garden, it’s as if the natural world reaches out and settles a hand on our shoulder, saying, 'You’re safe here', writes Peter Dowdall. File picture

Gardening has always been about more than just soil and seasons. It’s therapy in its truest form. As the world spins ever faster and our lives become more screen-obsessed and stress-filled as we surround ourselves with gadgets designed to help us and to give us more free time to unwind, the garden remains a quiet sanctuary, a place to breathe, to feel, and to simply be.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and surely now, it’s time we recognise gardening not only as a hobby or a passion, but as an antidote, a treatment, a lifeline.