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THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011 THE NEW TANNER 9 Gardening benefits Gardening is exercise, and although the physical benefits of gardening are often dismissed because people don't think of it as "real" exercise. But, you can burn as many calories in 45 minutes of gardening as you can in 30 minutes of aerobics while using multiple muscle groups, increasing your flexibility and strength. Working in the garden reduces stress and encourages patience, as you can't rush Mother Nature. It encourages creativity in a non-permanent way at a reasonable cost. Gardening also offers nutritional benefits to those who plant a vegetable garden which provides a continuous supply of fresh vegetables. Vegetable gardeners know exactly where their produce is coming from, and what chemicals ­ if any ­were used to grow the produce. Eating more vegetables, and especially home-grown vegetables, is a simple way to ensure that a body is getting a proper balance of vitamins and nutrients. Some studies report that people who are exposed to gardens and gardening recover more quickly from illnesses. It seems that for many people, gardening is just what the doctor ordered. To prevent muscle soreness, back pain, and repetitive strain injuries, warm up before starting and cool down after you are finished by walking and stretching. Use steady, smooth motions to avoid injury, and protect yourself from the sun by wearing sunscreen, long-sleeved shirts and pants, and a wide-brimmed hat. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, especially if the temperature and humidity are high, and when picking up tools or lifting bags of soil, bend your knees and keep your back straight. Words on Weeds · "A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows." ­ Doug Larson · "A weed is but an unloved flower." ­ Ella Wheeler Wilcox · "But a weed is simply a plant that wants to grow where people want something else. In blaming nature, people mistake the culprit. Weeds are people's idea, not nature's." ­Author Unknown ·" What is a weed? I have heard it said that there are sixty definitions. For me, a weed is a plant out of place." ­Donald Culross Peattie · "Crabgrass can grow on bowling balls in airless rooms, and there is no known way to kill it that does not involve nuclear weapons." ­Dave Barry · "I always think of my sins when I weed. They grow apace in the same way and are harder still to get rid of. ­Helena Rutherfurd Ely, A Woman's Hardy Garden, 1903 · " We e d s a r e n a ture's graffiti." ­ Janice Maeditere · "We can in fact only define a weed, mutatis mutandis, in terms of the well-known definition of dirt ­ as matter out of place. What we call a weed is in fact merely a plant growing where we do not want it." E.J. Salisbury, The Living Garden, 1935 · "A man's children and his garden both reflect the amount of weeding done during the growing season." ­Author Unknown · "Criticizing another's garden doesn't keep the weeds out of your own. ­ Author Unknown · Roses are red, Vio lets are blue; But they don't get around Like the dandelions do." ­ Slim Acres · " Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them." ­A.A. Milne