‘Gardening relieves stress’

instruments, not the composer,” said philosopher Geoffrey Charlesworth.
Well Harare’s beautiful lavender jacarandas are in a year-round bewilderment, some might say.
It is true that their timing used to be so strongly associated with the exam season that students had a superstition that a blossom landing on their heads would mean bad exam luck.
Glowing, must say, this year, the hot weather has prompted the early flowering, hence early rain are also expected according to local botanic gardens curator Martin Marivariva.
“Trees are saying, ‘If I don’t get cracking and produce some seed, I won’t have any babies to populate the earth’.”
Marivariva said there were always arguments about the “right” time for jacarandas to flower, with uneven bursts regularly occurring in September but dense flowering the following month.
“One of the oddest things I’ve noticed with the jacarandas is that spot flowering has been occurring throughout the year,” he said.
However, author Catherine Horwood suggests that gardening is good for lifestyle as it fights stress even better than other relaxing leisure activities.
“We live in a society where we’re just maximising ourselves out all the time in terms of paying attention,” she says.
Another flower staunch fan Patricia Mujuru, said when that capacity gets used up people tend to become irritable, error-prone, distractible, and stressed out.
“The breeze blows, things get dew on them, the bright flowers; the sounds, the smells, all of these draw on that form of attention,” says Mujuru, herself a home gardener.
In a study conducted by Saturday Lifestyle, people who had been diagnosed with depression, persistent low mood, spent six hours a week growing flowers and vegetables.
It is also noted that many women feel free when they are in a garden, reason being that they have the quality time with nature and adapt to the environment. 
“The researchers suggest that the novelty of gardening may have been enough to jolt some of the people out of their doldrums, but some experts have a much more radical explanation for how gardening might ease depression,” said a single mother from Waterfalls.
Again digging in the dirt isn’t the same as taking medicine, of course, but Anita Kapende, a florist argues that because humans evolved along a host of other friendly bugs, the relative lack of these “old friends” in our current environment has thrown our immune systems out of whack.
Gardening gets you out in the fresh air and sunshine — and it also gets your blood moving.
“There are lots of different movements in gardening, so you get some exercise benefits out of it as well.
Gardening is hardly pumping iron, and unless you’re hauling wheelbarrows of dirt long distances every day, it probably won’t do much for your cardiovascular fitness,” says William Ncube, local community garden programme coordinator.
Some say digging, planting, weeding, and other repetitive tasks that require strength or stretching are excellent forms of low-impact exercise, especially for people who find more vigorous exercise a challenge, such as those who are older, have disabilities, or suffer from chronic pain.
Ncube who usually digs in the garden, together with his eight year-old daughter and three-year-old son said instead of watching them play he invites them too.
“When you sit at a desk all day, there’s something about literally putting your hands in the dirt, digging and actually creating something that’s really beautiful.
Gardening is fun and not only for women . I enjoy it with my family especially weekends,” says Ncube (42).
United Kingdom-based Best Gardens magazine editor Sipho Xolena who is in the country for the spring break said there’s something about just being out there that feels kind of elemental.
Conversely Xolena isn’t the only one who feels this way.
Many gardeners view their hobby as the perfect solution to the modern world, a way of reclaiming some of the intangible things they have lost in the busy, dirt-free lives.
Working in the garden has other, less spiritual rewards. In addition to being a source of success fresh, healthy produce, gardening can ease stress.
“Sometimes you have to destroy your lawn in order to save it,” said Eva Longoria of Desperate Housewives during the Oprah Winfrey Show on gardening.
However, garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes.