Fight stress with plants and start your own urban garden this summer

Spare a corner of your home for a bit of green and you might find yourself feeling lighter.

At the relaunch of Cedarhills Garden Center in Quezon City last Saturday, GMA News Online spoke with CEO Gerald Sioco about the benefits of gardening, especially in the urban setting. There's the convenience of having parsley or sweet basil within arm's reach, but there's more to it.

"It's therapeutic in a way," Sioco explained. "Psychiatrists recommend this type of hobby to depressed patients, kasi looking at green things make you more calm."

A walk around Cedarhills' grounds quickly proves this to be true. Tables filled with sweet basil, lemon balm, parsley, Mexican coriander, Java mint, and Italian oregano is truly a relaxing sight to behold.

Sioco explained that a smaller garden can have the same refreshing effect at home. Wall-mounted planters can add a bit of green to small condominiums, especially for those lucky enough to have a balcony.

"We want to showcase, to advocate urban gardening. We want the people here living in the metro to go back to basics and discover the wonders that gardening can give them," Sioco said.

He acknowledged the problems of maintaining even just a small garden for people with more hectic schedules. Watering and sunlight, he said, are the usual problems. "Usually they don't have time to water every day."

But it doesn't need to be tasking. On a rectangular planter, one can plant several types of herbs and simply water that one "pot." Sioco pointed to a filing cabinet-turned-planter as an example of companion planting.

"They share the nutrients they have. It makes your soil healthier," he explained.

People interested in starting their own garden can ask Cedarhills' resident horticulturists for help. For beginners, Sioco recommended planting herbs.

"Herbs are very low-maintenance. You just need your sun and a good potting medium and pots," he said. "Even if you don't have a big backyard, you can grow your own herbs in small pots."

For additional concerns, their Facebook page also doubles as a hotline: take a picture of an unhealthy looking plant and they'll help "diagnose" the problem.

Sioco added, "We offer an organic urban gardening workshop at least once a month. The objective is to spread the love for gardening."

Cedarhills also offers a cacti and succulents workshop, for those more interested in growing these type of plants.

The shop first opened on Mother Ignacia in 2013, but they've been promoting urban gardening since 2000. The first store, then called Green 2000 Garden Center, opened in Rizal. They set up shop two years later at the Manila Seedling Bank Environmental Center and served customers until it closed in 2013. — BM, GMA News