Growing Through Menopause: 5 Reasons to Cultivate a Small Herb Garden

Menopause is a natural and transformative transition that brings with it a range of physical and emotional changes.  Amidst these changes, supporting your well-being is essential.  Finding helpful ways to do this is often a challenge when life is so busy.  One nourishing way to consider is to establish a small herb garden. Cultivating herbs offer a range of benefits that contribute to thriving in menopause.  Let’s explore five compelling reasons why nurturing your own small herb garden can be a game changer for your personal journey.

#1  Having Natural Remedies Readily Available:

A small herb garden can provide easy access to nature’s remedies. There are specific herbs that you can grow at home that are known for their menopause-related benefits.  Starting simple, with a beautiful herb like Sage is a great place to start. We are familiar with this herb as many of us cook with it at Thanksgiving, but few know that it may help with managing hot flashes.  It is pretty in the garden, easy to grow and easy to use both medicinally and as a culinary herb. Not to mention Sage is extremely safe.  Just keep the pesticides far away from your garden.

#2   A Sanctuary of Serenity:

Gardening itself is known to be a therapeutic activity that can promote relaxation and reduce stress.  Tending to your herb garden can become a nurturing ritual, allowing you the time to disconnect from the demands and stressors of daily life. While many of us have difficulty taking time for ourselves, a small garden is one way to take that time for ourselves while still feeling productive. The process of planting, nurturing and harvesting herbs provides a sense of accomplishment and a tangible connection to the cycles of growth and renewal

#3 Expand Your Culinary Skill

Herbs add flavor, depth and unique phytochemicals to improve not just the taste of food, but the healing power of food. Let food be thy medicine!  Herbs are an important part of a healthy kitchen.  Freshly picked herbs from your garden can elevate your kitchen creations, making meals both delicious and nutritious. Familiar herbs like basil, thyme and oregano add flavor while also offering health benefits.

#4 Connection with Nature

The hormonal shifts of menopause often leave you feeling disconnected from your body.  The simple act of gardening can help you reconnect with yourself and the natural world. Touching the soil, witnessing the growth of plants, and observing the changing seasons are a grounding experience that can foster a deeper sense of harmony with the environment surrounding you.

#5  Self Sufficiency and Self Care:

Cultivating a herb garden is in itself an act of self-care and a step toward self sufficiency.  As you tend your garden, you are actively nurturing yourself, your plants and those with whom you ultimately share your plants.  You may find the process of learning about different herbs and experimenting with their uses (both culinary and medicinal) to be an empowering step toward self sufficiency. Caring for ourselves, our environment and others is often incredibly rewarding.

Getting Started: Tips for Your Herb Garden

• Choose the Right Location:  If indoors, select a sunny south facing window and choose good quality well draining soil for your herbs to flourish. If outdoors, find a sunny spot with well draining soil, add a little compost and water regularly. Don’t over think this! Herbs are very forgiving which is part of their charm.
• Start Small:  Start with no more than 3 herbs. Once you see where they like to grow and what they need to thrive, then consider adding another one. 
• Practice Consistency:  Like any new endeavor, set a reminder to tend to your herbs. Even if it is to just check on them. Don’t over water which is quite a common problem. Prune (cut off) the dead leaves and make sure they have good air flow and are not crammed together.
• Be curious:  Learn about the herbs you choose to grow.  The internet is a great source as are herbal books, you may also learn something new about your friends and family when you talk about herbs.
• Be Flexible:  This is the natural world, therefore it is often unpredictable. Embrace experimentation. If a particular herb doesn’t flourish, don’t be discouraged. Just change the location next time or the timing of your watering or the soil or where you obtained your plant…the list goes on. Simply adjust and try again!  Show yourself Grace. Your garden is a good place to start to do so.

A small herb garden can be a vibrant source of support- physically, emotionally and even spiritually as you navigate the menopause journey.  Beyond the practical benefits, gardening offers an opportunity to reconnect with nature, engage in self care, and relish the joyful beauty of growth and transformation.  Whether sipping a cup of herbal tea, seasoning dinner with fresh picked herbs, or simply finding peace in the serenity of your garden, the act of nurturing hens becomes a symbol of your own growth and renewal during this transformative phase of life.