More Mainstream Media Acknowledgement of Community Gardening

**A*@aol.com**

Friends, 

This was from a "women's" website our of Arizona: 
http://sheknows.com/about/look/1188.htm.  What interest me now is that 
community gardening is now  being gradually accepted as a "regular," and not fringe 
activitiy for people to be engaged in throughout the United States.  This has 
been a slow and incremental change, but the seeds that the American Community 
Gardening Association and the National Gardening Association folks have been 
planting with garden writers and in general media are beginning to bloom.

Best wishes, 
Adam Honigman
Volunteer
Clinton Community Garden
NYC

Gardening for stress relief 

Patti Nagai 

Gardens are not only beautiful and peaceful, research has shown that even 
having a view of a garden relieves stress and helps with the healing processes. 
University of Wisconsin horticulture educator Patti Nagai says even people who 
don't have a garden or space for a garden, can grow plants in containers or 
volunteer to help in a local community garden and reap the benefits of this 
calming activity. 

Stress-relieving space
A "healing garden" is colorful and diverse, incorporates long sweeping curves 
and promotes a sense of beauty and tranquility. Here are some pointers for 
creating a stress-relieving outdoor space: 

Complex designs with a lot of diverse plants have been shown to be more 
"visually engaging" and have a calming effect on those viewing the garden. 

Big sweeping curves are more relaxing than hard lines and straight rows. 

Use a mix of colors: hot colors (red, orange, yellow) are stimulating; cool 
colors (green, blue, purple, pink, white) are soothing. 

Open spaces are important, but so are garden boundaries and privacy. Use 
shrubs, grasses, trellising or fencing to create private areas. 

Water is a peaceful element, but keep it simple and low maintenance. 

Fragrant plants are delightful, and can invoke fond memories. Use lilac, 
lavender, basil, roses, or others to add fragrance. If you are hoping to reduce 
stress through gardening, it's important to make sure that working in the garden 
doesn't simply create additional stresses. That means, take it easy. Keep 
your gardening to-do list short. Stretch before and after working in the garden 
to minimize aches and pains. Take breaks to sit back, rest and appreciate what 
you've accomplished. Listen to music while you work. 

Teaching children how to garden is a good way to rediscover the joys or 
gardening. When you garden with children, you see the garden through their eyes of 
discovery. 

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