There probably isn’t a woman on earth who wouldn’t want healthier, more radiant skin. Even those few who have seemingly clear complexions do work at it, although they might never admit it. So how can you have lovely skin without spending a small fortune on skincare products each and every month? Believe it or not, gardening might just be your new line of defense!

First a Word of Warning

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of gardening for radiant skin, it should be said that you must always guard against those damaging UV rays of the sun. Never work outdoors in a garden without a wide-brimmed panama style hat and the highest SPF sunscreen you can find. Don’t negate all your gardening efforts by drying and aging your skin under a hot, midday sun.

Avoiding Backbreaking Labor

One of the reasons why a great number of women don’t go in for gardening is that they feel like they don’t have the strength it requires to work the land. You can actually find gardening tools to do the heavy work for you while you focus your efforts on the easier tasks of watering and harvesting your plants as they mature. Tools such as leaf blowers reviewed on My Gardening Network can make several tasks easier so that you needn’t spend countless hours raking away pruned vegetation and fallen leaves.

Plants Known to Nourish the Skin

Now that you’ve found adequate protection for your skin and tools to make gardening easier, it’s time to think about just what plants you can grow known to be nourishing for your skin. Among those found to be most beneficial are:

• Aloe Vera
• Chamomile
• Sage
• Thyme
• Mint

And those are just five of the plants which are easy to grow, some of which you can even grow indoors.

What These Plants Are Used For

While we all know that aloe vera has soothing lubricant properties that help heal burns, it also works to hydrate and moisturize the skin. Aloe also has anti-inflammatory properties which work wonders on puffy eyes after a night on the town. Chamomile makes a fabulous clarifying tonic when steeped as a tea and applied to clean, dry skin. Sage is a powerful antioxidant, mint is a natural astringent and thyme works much like mint when used to heal and clear up red and angry acne blemishes.

Back to Nature – A Tonic of Its Own

There is one other aspect of gardening you probably hadn’t thought of. Most people living in 21^st Century society are busier than ever before. Oddly, with all the benefits of living in a digital age, life seems to have gotten more hectic instead of easier to handle. Gardening is an amazingly effective way to reduce stress and we all know the damage an inordinate amount of stress can do to the skin. By spending a bit of time every day in your garden, you will soon feel naturally relaxed. Nature can do that if you take the time to appreciate it.

If you are looking for a more natural approach to radiantly healthy skin, gardening just might be the solution you seek. Give it a try! What can you lose but a few hours of peace and quiet surrounded by the beauty of nature? It’s a gift that keeps on giving.