Why Gardening Makes You Happy and Cures Depression

So THIS is why I love to garden–
“Getting down and dirty is the best ‘upper’ – Serotonin….
Harvest ‘High’ – Dopamine”

I have often remarked on the great joy I feel when I forage in the garden, especially when I discover and harvest the ‘first of the season’, the first luscious strawberry to ripen or emergence of the first tender asparagus shoot. (and yes, the photo is my hand plucking a deliciously sweet strawberry in my garden) I have also often wondered why I had a degree of inherent immunity to the retail-therapy urges that afflict some of my friends and acquaintances. Maybe as a long-term gardener I’ve been getting a constant base-load dopamine high which has reduced the need to seek other ways to appease this primal instinct.” ~ Robyn Francis, author, More