Tending the garden is for everyone.

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The image in my head when I think of someone gardening (aside from my mom neurotically planting flowers that color coordinated with our house and deck) is either an older person puttering away with a huge sun hat, an Instagram influencer with a ficus addiction, or a doomsday-prepper growing tomatoes with their own urine. But nowadays, a new crop (see what I did there) of gardeners have popped up, tending their mental health as they pull out weeds and pick out annuals.

In line with the Japanese idea of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, which has been shown to lower cortisol levels, gardening can be extremely good for your health. In fact, there have been studies on the health effects of gardening and the Royal College of Medicine came to the conclusion that patients regularly gardening would “reduce the pressure on NHS services.” They are not the only ones, a meta-analysis of multiple studies on the health effects of gardening also concluded that “a regular dose of gardening can improve public health.” As renown horticulturist Allan Armitage says, “gardening simply does not allow one to be mentally old, because too many hopes and dreams are yet to be realized.”

Here’s some of our favorite tools for getting out there, feeling the sun, and forest bathing in our own back (or front) yard:

1) Japanese Hori Hori Knife.

Meaning ‘to dig’ in Japanese the original word is an onomatopoeia of the digging sound that the tool makes. Hori hori knives were originally designed for use in cultivating plants in difficult mountain environments in Japan. You will soon learn of its many uses as you dig, cut, and prune, all using one super cool looking tool. Here is the one we prefer:

2) Sun Hat.

As we all know, when it comes to skincare (especially anti-aging skincare) the sun is your enemy. If you are planning to spend some time making your garden a perfect place for shinrin-yoku, you might want to grab a hat to protect not only your face, but ears and neck from the effects of sun exposure. We like this one from Loewe:

3) Water Bottle.

It might not be a day at the gym, but you will work up a sweat (could be around 400 cals an hour depending on how rigorous) during your outdoor activities and we recommend staying hydrated and cool with an insulated water bottle like this one:

4) Gardening Gloves.

I was going to add a nail brush to this list, because of all the times I was digging under my nails for that last piece of dirt (germaphobe that I am) when I realized the better solution would be for us all just to wear gloves. I prefer ones that are not only going to protect you from dirt and thorns, but also are watertight, like these:

5) Sunscreen.

After reading No. 2, you might think that wearing sunscreen under a hat is overkill, but when it comes to skin, we over here at Grüner Wellness say you can never be too careful. The skin on your face is arguably the bits that you care about the most, so whether it’s spending time out in the garden, going for a hike, or any other outdoor fun, we love Supergoop’s Unseen Sunscreen because of its smooth and oil-free feel:

Whether you are a seasoned gardener or a new green thumb, we would love to see the fruits of your labor and repost them, connect with us on Instagram and show us your beautiful gardens!

And while you're at it, check out our Evening Ritual Oil to restore your skin after a long day in the weeds.