As spring is upon us and the weather – at least for now – is fine, the sight of dazzling daffodils, emerging tulips and blossoms makes everything look optimistic and more cheerful.
On this theme, three new books focus on how we can make ourselves happy through gardening, whatever space we have.
Dopamine Gardening by Amy Chapman (Pavilion, £22)
From TikTok creator @inthecottagegarden comes this project-led guide to happiness, in which gardeners are encouraged to tackle joyful outdoor projects for every season and space.
Activities range from growing chamomile from a teabag and growing fragrant plants to create flavours for cocktails and mocktails, to planting a nostalgia patch and creating a healing windowsill garden.
There are 52 projects from which to choose and Chapman suggests doing one each week of the year to feel the mood-boosting benefits of gardening year round.
As for her own experience, gardening, Chapman writes, has “taken an anxious little caterpillar and turned her into a thriving butterfly”.
Garden Yourself Happy by Jonny Hincks (Ebury Press, £16.99)
Firefighter by day, garden enthusiast and fitness buff when off duty, known by more than three million followers online as @gardenwithjonny, Hincks offers readers light-hearted, relatable advice along with a no-fuss approach with an aim to garden themselves happy.
His mother, a keen gardener who died when Hincks was 18, helped fuel his passion for gardening and he’s a big advocate for its positive impact on mental health and wellbeing.
In this book his philosophy is: keep it simple, fun and stress-free. He shows how small, consistent efforts make the results feel like big wins, from a tomato ripening on a vine to catching the fragrance of mint when you brush past a pot.
Doing little jobs regularly can add up, he insists, from regular mulching to checking under leaves for pests, and if you garden little and often it can build confidence and you’ll notice changes faster.
He shares warm words about how mistakes will make us learn and to take Instagram perfection with a pinch of salt. Divided into the four seasons, he offers gardening hacks and to-do lists, quick jobs, growing and pruning tips as well as blank sections for notes.
It’s easy-to-follow, funny and informative, with short paragraphs, 10, 20 and 30-minute jobs and step-by-step advice – and even if you don’t garden much, it’s an uplifting read.
RHS Happy Plants by Zia Allaway (Welbeck, £14.99)
Ever wondered which plants really do make you happy? Horticulturist and gardening writer Zia Allaway aims to offer gardeners 100 things to grow to make you smile, and how to make them happy too.
For those who want to delve deeper, Allaway explores the science that explains how flowers can focus our minds and help our brains recharge, and why the smell of our favourite plants can stimulate happy memories.
She also explains why some colours help us to relax and enjoy the moment and how wildlife visits to our garden plants bring joy.
Among the plants which bring us happiness for different reasons are the Japanese maple, which provides a long season of interest and spectacular autumn colour, and the tactile foliage of pollinator plant lamb’s ears, which draw children to touch it.
She outlines the colours and fragrance of many plants which help us to relax, including jasmine and chocolate cosmos, lavender and lemon balm, and highlights sound as a sensory factor to soothe frayed nerves, mentioning ornamental grasses which rustle in the breeze.
Water is also a factor to wellbeing in the garden, she continues, citing research studies which have found people living near water are healthier and happier than the rest of the population. So water lilies unsurprisingly get a mention.
Many herbs, some of which have been used in folk medicines, are also featured, with claims of lifting mood, helping digestion, alleviating colds, headaches and nausea, and treating mental health disorders such as depression.
There’s also a section on houseplants, as RHS research has shown that healthy houseplants boost mental wellbeing by improving our mood.
Easy candidates which thrive on neglect, including the snake plant, spider plant and string of hearts, also make it into this book, if for the mere fact that healthy plants make us happy – and these don’t require much maintenance.
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