Important medical information
If you have diabetes, or symptoms of diabetes, it is important to consult with your GP, including on any management or weight loss plan.
You can also contact the Diabetes UK helpline for confidential advice.
It is estimated that more than 5 million people in the UK are living with some form of diabetes. We look at the many ways gardening can help support health and wellbeing.
- Gardening can be a good form of exercise, helping you burn calories and build strength as part of an active lifestyle
- There are many activities you can enjoy in gardening and nature, allowing you to tailor it to your energy levels and preferences
- Time in gardens and nature can support mental wellbeing, boosting mood and motivation
- Gardening can help you connect to others, whether through a gardening club, community allotment, or simply by sharing tips
A person with diabetes taking a walk outdoors
Diabetes is a common condition. It causes the amount of sugar in a person’s blood to become too high, which can have serious consequences.
The two main types of diabetes are type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition. The exact cause of this autoimmune disease isn’t known, but it has no connection to diet or lifestyle. People with type 1 diabetes will need to take insulin to help manage it.
Type 2 diabetes is the more common type. Around 90% of people with diabetes have type 2. There are many risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes, including being obese / overweight, waist size, high blood pressure, age and family history.
Type 2 diabetes is often managed with a combination of medication and lifestyle changes.
Avoiding complications of diabetes
If diabetes goes untreated, there is the possibility of developing complications. Along with keeping blood sugar under control, ways to prevent or delay possible complications include:
- Keeping active
- Eating healthily
- Stopping smoking
- Attending all medical checks
Reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
An estimated 13.6 million people in the UK are thought to be at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Some risk factors for developing it, like age and family history, can’t be changed. But, you can try to keep to a healthy weight and waist size, eat healthy food and stay active.
Research findings published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2023 suggest active pursuits, like gardening, can even reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes among those who have a high genetic risk.
Encouraging remission for type 2 diabetes
With type 2 diabetes (but not type 1), there is the possibility of it going into remission. This means your blood sugar levels fall below the diabetes range without needing to take any diabetes medication. There is always the chance they may come up again in the future.
Diabetes remission is thought to be an ongoing process, best maintained by staying active and keeping a healthy weight.
A group of happy people in a garden
Gardening can be a great way to stay active. For some people, their garden is the outside gym! You can use every major muscle group as you stretch, bend, lift, pull and push.
Some gardening activities, like tidying, mowing the lawn and turning the compost pile, can be particularly physical. In an hour of gardening, you can burn 200-500 calories, depending on the activity. And, once done, you can enjoy seeing the meaningful difference you have made through your efforts.
It’s amazing how my fitness has changed. Just turning the compost is so active!
Nick, Thrive client gardener
Time in the garden or in nature on a sunny day can also trigger production of vitamin D. It is thought that increased levels of vitamin D may improve sensitivity to insulin, as well as aiding weight loss and helping reduce belly fat.
Gardening for mental wellness
The physical aspects of gardening are clearly relevant when managing, or in some cases hoping to prevent, diabetes. But, there is no doubt that our mental wellbeing impacts on everything else around us, including mood and motivation.
Gardening and time in nature can be a huge support for mental wellbeing. Gardening can help release serotonin and endorphins. These are our body’s natural feel-good hormones.
I love gardening, it makes me so relaxed, it gets me out of the house and I don’t get stressed.
Adam, Thrive client gardener
Regular gardening can bring a sense of purpose and structure. Needing to water plants can be a reason to get out of bed if your mood is low.
A significant body of evidence supports this. Research in Sweden found access to a garden – which included just having a balcony - had a significant positive impact on stress.
Mental Health Foundation created a report on Mental Health and Nature. It highlighted how time spent in nature and how connected to it we feel can support good mental health.
Gardening can also support the five ways to wellbeing, which are:
- Connect
- Be active
- Take notice
- Learn
- Give
[Thrive] helps me realise that there is always an opportunity to keep busy. I am enjoying my life now. Now I can be the happy person I always wanted to be.
Randall, Thrive client gardener with Type 2 diabetes
Plants and diabetes
Did you know? The idea that plants can suffer from a diabetes-like syndrome has been proposed for a number of years. Research is ongoing, but there is a suggestion that plants can accumulate excess sugar, which can affect their growth.
Food growing in raised beds
While there is no specific diet recommended for diabetes, making healthy food choices can help you feel better and support weight management.
It’s recommended to eat a balanced diet that includes plenty of fruit and vegetables, with sugar and salt kept to a minimum.
You could try growing some of your own food. This is a wonderful way to combine the benefits of gardening and top up your nutrition levels.
There’s nothing better than eating a tomato you’ve grown, or snipping off some herbs that you’ve cultivated yourself in a window box to add to your dinner.
Sarah Bowers, Regional Manager Thrive Birmingham
There are lots of ways you can grow your own food and it doesn’t require having a huge garden. You can grow some fruit and vegetables, like tomatoes, strawberries, beetroot and beans, in a container on a patio or balcony.
You could also look at growing on an allotment. You could join a community allotment, or apply for your own. We have advice here to help.
A person stretching in the garden
If you are starting out gardening after a diabetes diagnosis, or continuing to garden, here are some helpful tips.
Find what you most enjoy
The beauty of gardening and time in nature is its versatility. Some people love physical activities like mowing, pruning and tidying. Others are drawn to more passive activity, such as light deadheading or feeding the birds.
Even those who say they don’t like gardening can usually find something to enjoy, from sweeping a patio to using the garden for activities, like bowls or kicking a ball around.
What you feel like doing may change with the seasons or even day to day. We have a host of suggested activities for inspiration below.
Warm up
It’s always a good idea to do a few gentle stretches before you get going. This will help your muscles to loosen and reduce the risk of strain.
Little and often
Feeling tired can often accompany having diabetes. As this may be related to blood sugar levels, it is always worth testing blood sugar with bouts of tiredness.
You might not feel like a vigorous gardening session if you are tired. You could opt for a shorter session, even just 5 or 10 minutes. Or, you could choose a less physical, seated or creative activity. We have a number of suggestions below.
Take frequent breaks when gardening. Have plenty of water and healthy meals or snacks.
Know your limits! The garden will wait for another day if you need to stop.
I have some slow days with sudden loss of energy. There's the old saying that gardens need a good dose of looking at and some days, that's all I do to them.
Mike, Thrive volunteer
Build up fitness
You can find little ways to build up your fitness as you get more into gardening.
For example, you could set yourself the challenge of walking a few more steps to where you need to go each time.
Sensation awareness
Nerve damage, leading to a loss of sensation in feet and hands, is a possible complication of diabetes.
If you have any loss of sensation, take extra care when gardening:
- Wear well-fitted, protective shoes
- In colder weather, wear warm clothing. You may want thermal gardening gloves – regular ones do not offer protection against very cold weather
- In warmer weather, wear a sunhat and sunscreen
It is also possible to do many activities from a seated position, if you want to avoid risk. Find some suggestions below. The use of long-handled tools can also make it possible to do activities like digging, pruning and weeding from a seated position.
Loss of vision
If you have any loss of vision as a result of your diabetes, there are ways to adapt how you garden. You may want to read our guide to gardening when blind or visually impaired.
A person potting on seedlings
You may already have strong ideas about what you would like to do in the garden. It’s always a good idea to do what you like best!
If you would like some inspiration, we have a number of activities here to try depending on your energy levels, mood and garden space.
Seated gardening activities
Many gardening activities can be done at a table. These will still build fine motor skills and dexterity. Some ideas include:
- Sowing seeds
- Making your own herbal tea
- Making a succulent planter
- Painting your plant pots
- Growing hyacinths in water
- Conducting a broad bean growing experiment
Lighter physical gardening activities
If you would like something that gets you active, but at a gentler pace, you could try one of these:
- Lightly weeding the garden
- Planting a container
- Deadheading plants
- Watering indoor plants and small containers
Gardening is a good outdoor exercise that doesn't cost anything. It's a nice family activity to do.
Alex, home gardener
Higher energy gardening activities
All these activities are more physical, helping burn calories and build strength:
- Mowing the lawn
- Tidying the garden or sweeping the patio
- Watering plants outdoors with hose or watering can
- Digging beds and borders
- Pruning
- Raking
- Turning your compost pile
- Planting out from pots into the garden
Cutting things and moving things around are good physical exercise. It gets the blood flowing.
Participant, Thrive Just 30! Initiative
Be inspired by nature
People walking in the woods
- Take a walk. You could go to a park or public garden. Look around and appreciate the seasonal changes throughout the year
- Do things outside that you would usually do inside – have food or a drink, play a game or talk with friends
- Practice mindfulness in the garden. Sit quietly, even for just a few minutes, and see which of your senses are engaged
- Hang the washing outside
- Fill bird feeders, then wait and observe any visiting birds
- If you don’t feel like going out, watch wildlife live on your computer. You could find a wildlife webcam so you can enjoy seeing different animals going about their daily lives
- Do a creative activity. You could make an apple bird feeder, do some creative nature writing, or press flowers
We all have days where we’re not in the mood for doing much and that’s ok too. The garden and nature will wait patiently and still be there whenever you feel like it.
With thanks for support reviewing this article
Diabetes UK
Diabetes UK
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