Nature benefits our lives in so many ways so be sure to incorporate functionality into your landscaping ideas. Plan your landscape to capitalize on the benefits most applicable to you and your family.
Do you like to meditate? Find gardening relaxing? Do your kids or pets need space to run and play? Plan landscaping ideas to support these wants.
At Hittle Landscaping in Indianapolis, we love bringing nature within reach. Avoid the landscaping equivalent of a museum. Something to admire, but not touch. We love it when we get to design a space for a family or business to be used.
Landscaping Ideas Which Make Nature Accessible and Improve Your Mental Health
According to a new study by Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment through Stanford University, walking in and exposure to nature leads to a lower risk of depression.
In fact, the study determined people walked for 90 minutes in a natural area, versus participants who walked in a highly-trafficked urban setting, showed evidence of decreased brain activity in a region of the brain often associated with depression.
This neural evidence led the team to suggest accessibility to natural areas is not only pleasant, but critical to mental health. These findings support landscaping ideas which preserve and bring people to nature.
Natural areas make cities more livable to the more than half of the world’s population which live in them. Forecasters predict the figure to rise to 70 percent within the next few decades.
As urban centers become more populated, people inadvertently disconnect from nature and mental health issues, such as depression, increase. The study also revealed urban citizens outpace rural residents in mood disorders by 40 percent and anxiety disorders by 20 percent.
No one suggests planting a tree cures mental health issues. Instead, be proactive when planning landscaping ideas to incorporate nature.
Examples of Landscaping Ideas Which Embrace Nature
Space
If you like to do yoga, meditate or relax with a book or a cup of coffee, create a space for these activities outdoors. If you have a patio or deck, select easy to move furniture so you have a space for yoga or tai chi.
Water
Incorporate a water feature to facilitate mediation or bring the sounds of nature to you while you enjoy a beverage or write in a journal. Water features also help muffle noise from cars or other urban noise pollution.
Preserve Pollinators
Work with your professional landscape designer to select trees, shrubbery and plants attractive to bees, butterflies and birds. It helps the environment and the endangered bees, as well as provides year-round entertainment.
Power of Touch
Perhaps you like to get your hands dirty. Plan a garden space. You have numerous options. Your Hittle designer can create a garden perfect for your tastes and activity level.
Maybe it’s a small container garden of herbs on the patio. If bending is difficult, a raised bed garden will make working easier. If you have space, a cutting garden helps you bring the outdoors in with your own fresh flowers. We can design something as big or as small as you like.
Surround Yourself
For homes with expansive grounds, consider a winding path. This may help you take time for yourself each day to walk along your property and quiet the noise of our technology-driven lives.
Designers at Hittle Want to Hear Your Landscaping Ideas: What’s Important to You?
Call Hittle Landscaping today for a complimentary consultation. We love to hear your ideas for your Indianapolis property. We’ll combine expertise and experience to them to turn your dreams into reality. Book your time with a designer now so we can begin your landscape project this spring.
For more than 40 years Hittle Landscaping has helped Central Indiana residential and commercial clients improve and enhance outdoor spaces.
Family-owned and operated, Hittle believes in core values of Honesty, Innovation, Thankfulness and Teamwork. How can we assist you today?