Feel Good Spring – Put a spring in your step!

It’s almost spring! Whether you feel that it starts on the 1^st March (meteorological start of spring) or 20^th March (astronomical start of spring), put a spring back into your step and spend more time outside or in your garden. The warmer weather is uplifting and the sights and sounds of nature will engage all your senses and make you feel good.

Squire’s Garden Centres suggest nine outdoor activities to make you feel good this spring – and none of them have to cost you anything at all.

9 Spring Activities to Make You Feel Good

1. Feel clarity with a garden clean up – Have a spring clean in the garden. Rake up fallen leaves, prune back hedges and shrubs, tidy your shed and clean garden tools and garden furniture so that they are all ready to use.
2. Smell the sweet fragrance of flowers in bloom – Whether it’s smelling the scent of flowers in your garden or those in parks and outdoor spaces, engage your sense of smell and enjoy the beautiful fragrance of tulips, daffodils, irises, hyacinths or magnolia.
3. Spot your first bumblebee searching for nectar – The lifecycle of a bumblebee begins in spring, when rising temperatures awaken a queen bumblebee that has been hibernating alone in the soil. She’ll feed on flowers, drinking nectar to gain energy and collecting pollen to bring back to the nest. There are 24 different species of bumblebee in the UK. They love plants such as dahlias, buddleia, lavender, clematis, foxglove, hosta and wildflowers.
4. Feel the freshness of the earth and air – Reconnect with nature. Dig the garden soil, perhaps in order to plant, or hoe to remove weeds as they start to grow, and breath in the fresh spring air. The more fresh air you get the more oxygen you will breathe, which increases the amount of serotonin (the happy hormone) you inhale, consequently making you happier!
5. Look out for a glimpse of wildlife waking up – Hedgehogs normally come out of hibernation in mid-March to early-April depending how warm the weather is. Their first priority is water, so help them by leaving out a small bowl of fresh water in your garden. Special hedgehog food is available to buy if you wish. Hedgehogs are nocturnal so your best chance of seeing them is at night. They like dry spaces such as under garden sheds, near compost heaps or hedges, or in an untidy bit of your garden.
6. Sense new life and optimism in every scene – Wonder at the power of nature. See the bulbs emerging from the soil, pale green leaves appearing on trees, flower buds starting to open and the sight of beautiful blossom everywhere.
7. Wander through swathes of beautiful bluebells – Carpets of bluebells are one of the greatest sights of spring. Bluebells usefully flower from late March through to May. The best places to spot them are in old and ancient woods, along hedgerows, or in fields and gardens. Native bluebells have a strong and sweet scent, so the stronger the smell the more likely you’ve found a native specimen.
8. Listen to the lullaby of birds returning – A large number of birds migrate to the UK every spring including Swallows, Warblers, Martins, Swifts and Cuckoos. Get up early and enjoy listening to the ‘dawn chorus’ as birds defend their territories and sing to attract a mate. Birds begin to sing about an hour before sunrise. It’s best to pick a day with fine weather and little wind. The first songsters of the season are residents such as Robins and Great Tits, followed by migrants such as the Chiffchaff or Blackcap Warbler.
9. Smell the scent of freshly cut grass – March is generally the time to start mowing the lawn. Put the blades on their highest level and gradually reduce the level until your reach your desired height by the end of April. Freshly cut grass smells so good as it reminds us of summer and weekends, which makes us feel good and boosts our mood.