9. Garden Day is on 20 October and there are some healthy side effects to growing plants
Just as National Braai Day has become an annual celebration, on 20 October, Garden Day will see the green-thumbed across the country extol the value and virtues of plants.
There’s a whole new crop of gardeners sprouting up and many don’t even own gardens. These apartment-dwelling “plant parents” are reaping the feel-good
benefits of growing something green. New research shows a promising link between happiness, purpose and gardens. According to the study, a significant 68% of under-35s now enjoy looking after the humble houseplant, and those that do say they are happier with their lives.
As Corrie Gunter of the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at UCT says, “There’s a reason why millennials are showing an increasing interest in gardening. We live in an online world of social media and instant gratification. Gardening forces you to slow down and step into a [different] time frame.” Corrie is a cell biologist with a current focus on plant-produced pharmaceuticals. He shares his apartment with roughly 90 indoor plants – from humble sweetheart vines and philodendrons to the carnivorous Asian Pitcher Plant (AKA Monkey Cup).
“Looking after plants makes you exercise patience. And it feeds our need for greenscapes: The further away we get from nature, the more we crave it.” Corrie says he plans to spend Garden Day with a few plant-loving friends around a braai.