subject: Gardening A Hobby For All Ages [print this page] Gardening is a pastime that can be enjoyed by very young children, mums and dads, enthusiastic vegetable growers, those who enjoy competition or those who just like to get outside and makes their gardens nice places to be. No two gardens are alike as everyone has their own preferences, style and requirements. For households with small children an area for play will almost always be needed while they are growing up. Other practical considerations become part of the equation if access routes are required to cater for those who need safe walkways or for the siting of vegetable patches if the garden is to help with the food bill.
One beauty of gardening is that it doesn't make too many demands in terms of tools and technology Of course there are endless gadgets and machinery choices available for purchase, but often these are not required and a gardener has the option of using tried and tested tools like rakes, spades, push mowers and pruning shears if they wish. And of course many homes in the UK complete with a gardening zone, sometimes fully developed and sometimes merely just a blank canvas waiting for someone's passion to take over and transform the space. Even homes in apartment blocks sometimes have access to rooftop gardens or perhaps the space to create a small garden on a balcony or, as mentioned already, even in window boxes. Also there is the opportunity to hire an allotment from a local authority. This option is very cost effective as the typical price of a 12 month lease varies from around 30 to as low as 5 depending on where you live. There can be very few hobbies that offer such opportunity and at an affordable range of costs.
If a love of gardening is developed at a young age, then it can often become a hobby for life. The term Kindergarten was coined in the early nineteenth century. "Children's garden" is the direct translation of the term and was used at the time to describe a modern way of teaching young children that originated in Hungary, evolved into something more popular in Germany and ended up becoming an institution in the USA. The idea was to provide an environment where children could develop by playing and experiencing a wide range of situations, which often meant being outside. In fact the benefits of gardens in assisting children's education are still being understood and a recent study by the Royal Horticultural Society found that gardening can "make children happier". The study also discovered all manner of additional positive effects such as increased resilience, increased confidence plus gardening also encouraged the children to lead healthier lives.
Introducing children to gardening can take many forms from growing some sweet peas in a pot or scattering some flower seeds, through to laying out a veg patch with potatoes and carrots or planting up a small border with cottage garden flowers.
When you consider why people take up gardening all kinds of reasons spring to mind. Of course creating something beautiful and feeling that sense of achievement and satisfaction is wonderful, but also the thought of creating new life from something as simple as a seed is a powerful encouragement. Community spirit is also alive and well in the gardening community, with local interest groups found in most towns and cities in the UK, plus a huge bank of knowledge and help accessible via the internet.
The current love of gardening in the UK is wide spread and crosses all age boundaries. Newspapers dedicate regular weekly columns or even whole supplements to gardeners, evidence of a hobby whose popularity is thriving. For getting outside, spending time with friends and giving your body a spell of useful exercise, gardening really is hard to beat.
