It should come as little surprise to learn that gardening is actually good for you – but even the experts are overwhelmed with the evidence demonstrating its benefits.  We all know that gardening gives you exercise, fresh air and vitamin D, but it is the psychological benefits that are now becoming evident.

Gardening can help people with all manner of mental health conditions (such as depression), as well as those recovering from brain injuries and strokes, and those with dementia.  The gardener is immediately in a calm, soothing, stress-free and natural setting, at one with nature, accomplishing an ultimately rewarding but not-too-demanding task.  And according to one expert, you don’t have to have a garden to reap the rewards.  A simple window box with just one seed to plant, tend and watch grow can benefit you.

One IT specialist earning a hefty City salary had a breakdown at 27.  After an unsatisfactory period of ‘just existing’, unable to get her life back on track, she started attending a weekly gardening project.  Three years later she passed her horticultural exams and is now training to be an arboriculturalist.  She says, ‘I felt a sense of transformation in the garden…a sense of calm that I hadn’t felt before.’

ADL offer a wide selection of homestudy courses on home gardening, arboriculture and other horticultural subjects.   Here are some:
· Arboriculture I – BHT106

· Arboriculture II – BHT208

· Diploma in Horticulture – VHT002

· Advanced Certificate in Horticulture (Ornamental Horticulture) – V

· Advanced Certificate in Arboriculture – VHT090

· Amenity Horticulture I

· Managing Notable Gardens – BHT340

· Landscaping I – BHT109

For more information on Horticulture and other relevant courses, please click here…
Available through correspondence, on-Line or USB at ADL.