Retired from a successful real estate practice and living in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, David Jarjisian focuses on a range of creative hobbies. He is particularly interested in gardening, fly-fishing, and furniture-building. For enthusiasts like David Jarjisian, gardening can be a relaxing and energizing way of reconnecting with the natural world.
A wide range of research has demonstrated that when people spend time outdoors, their physical and mental health improve as stress lowers. Working in a garden also draws on skills like concentration, planning, and focus as a gardener sees a long-term project through from idea to completion.
Experienced gardeners have noted that their time working outdoors teaches them acceptance, as well as the ability to recognize which things in their environments they can change, and which they cannot. In the natural world, people typically can’t achieve perfection. Pest invasions, inclement weather, and other conditions can present serious challenges, and can teach the valuable skills of patience with the imperfections and unpredictability of life. Gardeners then learn to celebrate their often-imperfect, but very real achievements.
Rather than feeling overwhelmed by a sense of failure if something in the garden doesn’t go exactly as planned, an experienced gardener can develop what today’s psychologists call a “growth mindset,” learning from mistakes and building from experience in the most creative and constructive ways possible.
A wide range of research has demonstrated that when people spend time outdoors, their physical and mental health improve as stress lowers. Working in a garden also draws on skills like concentration, planning, and focus as a gardener sees a long-term project through from idea to completion.
Experienced gardeners have noted that their time working outdoors teaches them acceptance, as well as the ability to recognize which things in their environments they can change, and which they cannot. In the natural world, people typically can’t achieve perfection. Pest invasions, inclement weather, and other conditions can present serious challenges, and can teach the valuable skills of patience with the imperfections and unpredictability of life. Gardeners then learn to celebrate their often-imperfect, but very real achievements.
Rather than feeling overwhelmed by a sense of failure if something in the garden doesn’t go exactly as planned, an experienced gardener can develop what today’s psychologists call a “growth mindset,” learning from mistakes and building from experience in the most creative and constructive ways possible.
