This article outlines how gardening can give you and your family the chance to get outside, be active and enjoy healthy food that you have grown. It also presents information about farmers’ markets, buying fresh food, and participating in gardening opportunities in your area, such as community gardens and the popular “Communities in Bloom” initiative.

Why Gardening is Good for Your Health
Gardening is a great way to boost your physical activity in spring, summer and fall. It also helps to relieve stress, keeps you in touch with Mother Nature, and offers a fun way for your family to be active together. Plus, you get the added benefits of eating healthy foods you have grown yourself.

Canada’s Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living recommends that adults do 60 minutes of physical activity each day and that children and youth be active for 60-90 minutes on most days.

Gardening is an excellent way to build more physical activity into your lifestyle. Gardening helps you to build endurance, flexibility and strength, plus it uses all or most of your major muscle groups, improves coordination and burns calories.

Activities that help you build endurance are those that make you breathe hard. When you are gardening, this may include digging, raking, weeding, tilling the garden or turning the compost. 

Common gardening movements, like bending and reaching, help to improve your flexibility.  By doing movements such as lifting and shoveling, you build muscle strength.

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In fact, almost every movement you make while gardening is good for your body; but it pays to plan each move or activity. Take care not to overwork or strain yourself or your body. Make gardening a family effort, share fun tasks and tougher jobs, and get help for really difficult tasks such as lifting items, or filling and wheeling a wheel-barrow.

Children usually enjoy gardening as much as adults.  Not only does it keep them active and allow them to help with chores at home, it encourages healthy eating. 

Gardening teaches kids where healthy food comes from – whether your own garden or the farm – and helps them recognize healthy food choices.  Keeping healthy foods visible in your house makes them a more likely choice for snacks and meals.

Gardening can also provide relief from stress you may experience in daily living, whether work-related stress or otherwise. Gardening allows you to reconnect with nature and enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of being outside.  Take time in the garden to enjoy beautiful colours of the flowers, the sound of birds singing and the smell of freshly turned earth.

Active gardeners can feel a great sense of accomplishment by planning, producing and enjoying food they have grown.

If you need one more great reason to garden, consider the environment.  Eating locally-grown food reduces transportation costs and greenhouse gases.  Gardening at home or locally also helps conserve farmland and natural spaces.

About Communities in Bloom
Communities in Bloom is a national, non-profit organization designed to get “people, plants and pride growing together.”   

Getting involved with this initiative is another way to be involved in gardening and boost your physical activity. It’s a great way to meet up with friends, neighbours, homeowners, businesses, and other members of your community, young and old.

Typical projects where you can be physically active may include:

• organized clean-up days;
• street challenges for lawn and gardens;
• planting heritage gardens; or
• planting a school flower garden.

To get started, communities set-up “Bloom” committees, including citizens, local government (e.g., City Councillors or administrators) and businesses.  At the end of the summer, each community is judged by a national committee, based partly on the number and range of projects undertaken. There are eight judging categories, such as tidiness, environmental awareness and community involvement. 

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Fresh Food from Farmers’ Markets and Local Farms
Seeking out fresh, locally-grown foods is a great way to add healthy foods to your diet. Whether or not you grow food in your own garden, it’s good to know that Alberta has a large network of farmers’ markets that offer locally-grown produce, often year-round.

Did you know that farmers’ markets are the second choice for grocery shopping after large grocery outlets?  People visit farmers’ markets because they provide:

• fresh, in-season produce
• locally-produced products
• friendly service
• fair trade products

Another option for buying locally-grown, fresh food for your family is to visit one of the member farms of the Alberta Farm Fresh Producers Association. You can buy food from these farms through farm gate sales or at “u-pick” locations. Association members also provide foods to farmers’ markets.

Community Gardening is Growing
Community gardens are growing in popularity, and are another good way to grow fresh, affordable food. There are two types of community gardens:

• common gardens, where members share in the work and the harvest; or
• designated garden areas, where community members have shared access, but garden individual plots.

Community gardens can be any size and can be located almost anywhere, such as vacant lots, church grounds, seniors’ housing sites, or on public land.  These gardens may be organized by almost any group, such as neighbourhoods, community leagues, or non-profit organizations.

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The most common foods grown in community gardens in Alberta include salad greens, carrots, tomatoes, beets and potatoes.

Some of the common benefits of community gardening you may experience include:

• being physically active and having easy access to fresh foods;
• the pride of growing and harvesting your own food;
• the opportunity to be hands-on and grow chemical-free food;
• the chance to connect with nature, encourage green space in your community and beautify your surroundings. 

Get Growing!
Gardening is a good way to get moving, eat healthy foods and participate in your community.

By growing your own food, buying locally-produced fresh foods, or participating in community gardening initiatives, you can play an active role in “growing” your community, while enjoying the health benefits of being physically active and eating healthy foods.

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Learn More

Communities in Bloom Alberta
Communities in Bloom Alberta provides everything you need to know to about this program in your community and across the province. 

Community Garden Network of Edmonton and Area
A helpful resource to help you start your own community garden or link up with an existing garden in the Edmonton area.

Calgary Horticultural Society
Offers a variety of resources. Known as Canada’s oldest, largest and most active gardening group.