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7/23/2009 12:00:00 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Gardens provide more than flowers and food - they also help gardeners stay fit! Working in the garden can benefit the whole body -- pulling weeds strengthens abdominal muscles and burns calories. Hoeing, raking, turning a compost pile, and digging holes for new plants are all good upper body workouts. Pausing to enjoy our accomplishments in the garden and sharing its beauty or bounty with others makes us feel better, too. White Flower Farm (www.whiteflowerfarm.com) offers their top nine exercise and gardening tips. 1. Gardening activities can burn from 100-200 calories per half-hour. The more you dig, the more you burn! 2. Regular tasks such as weeding, raking and pruning use all the major muscle groups: legs, arms, shoulders, stomach, neck and back. 3. Spending just 30-45 minutes gardening most days of the week contributes to improved flexibility, reduced blood pressure, and overall weight reduction. 4. Nurturing plants gives a sense of harmony with the natural world and reduces stress, a significant mental and physical health benefit. 5. Gardening and yard work can be done at your own pace and level of ability. Many activities are low-impact. Build up to what you can handle and make sure you stretch before you start! 6. Use a push lawn mower instead of a rider - even if it is only on part of your lawn. 7. Vary gardening tasks during the day so that you don't overuse a particular muscle group. To avoid back injuries, bend your knees when picking up and lifting. 8. Basking in the sun is good for your spirits and a source of vitamin D, but don't overdo it. Protect your skin and eyes with sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat. 9. Growing and eating your own organically raised vegetables can become part of a healthy, going-green lifestyle for everyone in the family. Barb Pierson, the nursery manager at White Flower Farm, is available for interviews upon request, as are other experts. Please contact: Deborah Broide, White Flower Farm is a family-owned nursery located in northwest Connecticut. Since 1950, they have been gathering, evaluating, growing, and selling a wide range of annuals, perennials, shrubs, vines, bulbs, and houseplants representing the very best varieties from around the world. Plants shipped are true to name, free of disease, and in prime condition for growing. While in the area, stop by White Flower Farm with its five acres of display gardens, or visit www.whiteflowerfarm.com, where you will also find helpful gardening information including how-to videos. Join our E-mail list for gardening advice and tips, From the Farm monthly newsletter, announcement of events at the White Flower Farm Store, and special offers not in our catalogues or on our Web site. White Flower Farm -- we make your garden grow. |
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