Rat Race v Greenhouse Space

The expression “Gardening leave” usually applies to redundancies, four day weeks and bad news in general…..but for many stressed executives it appears to be a gateway to improved health and wellbeing.

Gone are the days when greenhouses are populated mostly by enthusiastic senior citizens. The age range of passionate “greenhousers” is coming down, as both men and women discover the joys of pottering around in a plant bedecked green space all year round.

Writing in The Guardian, Andrew Simms recommends it as a highly therapeutic way of dealing with modern work pressures.
He writes “Fancy a day off each week to grow your own food? We would all reap numerous lifestyle, health and environmental benefits.”

He adds: “The combined cost of physical inactivity, poor diet and mental ill-health in the UK runs into tens of billions of pounds. In a single activity can gardening alleviate all three problems, reducing the need for some public services and increasing our capacity to care for each other. The educational benefits in terms of helping restore attention spans benefit old and young equally. Re-familiarising people with food through growing their own is one of the best ways to learn and improve a diet.”

So at least one day a week escape the rat race and enjoy greenhouse space.
 

Author: Robert Smith