hmmm..does potting soil have that bacterium? I know I was happy as a clam the other day when I was potting up some seedlings and had my hands deep into a big bowl of soupy potting soil! :-)

I have always told Joe that gardening is cheaper than a shrink...but of course we know that's not true. kt

Hi, first post!

This article made me very happy. I'm always in a great mood when I've got dirt under my nails.

Gardening is like yoga -- great for the body and great for the mind. With gardening, however, you're less likely to catch a glimpse of your own terry-clad derriere.

LOL...LOL...LOL...but of course you know with gardening it is your neighbor freely commenting across the room to their second cousin how big your but is...as well as... she just stands and stares at the same spot for hours...I think she only has one pair of jeans with brown/green stains on the knees...did you notice from being bent over all the time her hair tends to stand straight up?!!! kt

Oh does dirt boost happiness, and I'm betting it helps heal and recover from major surgery as well, my spinal surgeon believes it.

The story goes like this.

I had spinal surgery last year, June 12th to be exact. Sent home with the restrictions of "no bending, no twisting, no turning, no stooping, no down on hands and knees, Absolutely no gardening for the next 3 weeks".

Worked fine for the 1st 2 weeks, cause I hurt to move. But end of week 3 and I'm looking at 100's of wintersown seedlings that need to be planted and it's July 4th already.

See the doc and he sets new rules. "no bending, no twisting, no turning, no stooping, no hands and knees, but you may do the following.

Sit my but in a chair at an outside table. have the soil on the table, pots on the table, plants on the table and you can play in your dirt and mud."

Well I felt like I had won the lottery. Out went the table and all the stuff I needed and down to the house came the best friend of over 40 years.
I stand and point to the containers to pot up, she put them on the table with everything else. I filled the pots, she got them wet and in went my hands to "play in the dirt". I didn't know fresh wet potting mix could feel so good, smell so good, just be a plain simple pleasure to have in my hands. So much so, that my friend threatened to stop giving me any more dirt and stuff if I didn't get to work and take care of the seedlings.

Took us a week to get them all planted in pots and for her to put the rest in the ground.

In the mean time, the doc says he never saw anyone, in 25 years, heal as quickly as I did and is convinced it was the "damn dirt and mud" that I was playing in that did the trick.
To me it was just the simple pleasure of having part of my normal life back and progressing to being able to function again and just be doing something somewhat normal.

One thing for sure is that I learned very quickly how big a part of my life gardening is and can't imagine not being able to garden in some form or another.

This year all is well and can't wait to be able to get out and really work in the yards without all the help I needed a year ago.

Fran

Loved the article and Fran's story. I think it all has to do with doing something you enjoy. Other studies have shown when your happy your immune system is boosted so if you like gardening it should follow. A control study would be to take people that 'hate' gardening and expose them to dirt and see if they are helped by the exposure to the dirt's microbes. Probably not...

Sue

Fran That's a great story, Fran! I'm glad you're back in gear, too. I'd go ballistic if I couldn't garden for three weeks. As it was, I was out of it for two weeks last year, one when I got a deer fly bite just below my ankle and another one when I got poison ivy.

Sue I've heard that, too, like people with pets are happier than those without. But I wonder if the bacteria in soil maybe really does make a difference for people who hate to garden, but it's just not enough to counteract the toxins that must be present in the weeds they have to pull. HAHAHA!!

Well I'm a little disappointed because, from the subject line of this thread, I was hoping to read that my un-vaccuumed house might be a source of joy. Other than that, though, I think we all know that while you can't actually buy happiness, you can buy plants, which is the same thing only better.

Katy - I hope to meet your infamous neighbor some day - an "offscreen" player in the cast of characters on the NE forum. Too funny!