There are many benefits to growing your own cannabis - it’s low cost and low waste, you can grow it free of harmful chemicals if you so choose, it has a thousand and one applications, and it’s pretty. As an added bonus cannabis is a friendly companion that loves to buddy up to many of the other plants. Naww, isn’t that sweet!

We’ve previously talked about how much we love gardening here at Her(B) Life, and the list of reasons why you should nurture your green thumb is extensive. Whether it’s a veggie patch in the backyard or potted plants in your apartment, there’s something special about cultivating plant life at home.

In recent studies, gardening has been shown to help people suffering from depression. Not only that, the soil microbiome, similar to the microbiome in our gut, is believed to house beneficial bacteria that can enhance our immune system. Some experts go so far as to say that our obsession with hygiene in recent decades could be the cause of the steep rise in the number of allergies and cases of asthma in children. In addition, the proliferation of digital media and social networking has drastically increased the time we spend indoors, having some serious mental health ramifications for people of all ages.

For those with enough space to plant your own little oasis resplendent with vegetables, fruits, flowers and fragrances, cannabis could be a wonderful addition, even just for the aesthetic.

STEWARDS OF THE LAND

In the world of permaculture design, different plant species are grown together to mimic the diverse, yet cohesive relationships of a natural ecosystem, and cannabis is often referred to as a steward of the land (or the soil). This means that the cannabis plant could be playing an important role in the success of the ecosystem. It should be said that there’s not a lot of evidence to suggest that cannabis helps keep soil healthy, but in truth we know less about soil microorganisms than we do about the deep ocean, so that’s not altogether surprising.

AROMATHERAPY

You might want to add cannabis to your garden, alongside other aromatic plants like lavender or chamomile, for the benefits derived from aromatherapy. Considered an alternative form of medicine, aromatherapy is known to improve psychological health as well as physical well being. While cannabis aromatherapy is probably an acquired taste, if you ask any cannasseur, the nuance of cannabis aroma would be highly therapeutic.  

MEDICINAL VALUE

Cannabis is hailed as somewhat of a super-plant, possessing an extensive list of medicinal benefits with virtually no drawbacks and none of the nasty side-effects of many pharmaceuticals. There are also a long list of other therapeutic applications such as  relaxation, stress relief, increased appetite, enhanced mood, enhanced taste, heightening of senses, increased intimacy, better sleep and so on.

AESTHETIC

Cannabis is a beautiful plant to have in the garden. It’s also robust and is capable of handling itself without needing a lot of attention. When we talk about growing cannabis we’re often referring to the females plants responsible for bearing the highly sought after flower. The male plants however, are just as beautiful as their female counterparts, so throwing in seeds without worrying about the harvest would be a somewhat less complicated alternative, but equally as pleasing on the eye (although we do recommend making sure none of your neighbors are growing females that could be pollinated by your decorative male plant - this will cause those neighboring female plants to slow down developing buds and focus on producing seeds instead).

Keep in mind that the cannabis plant is a hungry, robust and dominant plant by nature. So when adding her to your patch, pay close attention to how the other plants around it react to it and make whatever necessary changes you need.

We firmly believe that a plant such as this, with its multitude of uses, which grows with relative ease in diverse weather conditions should have a place in virtually every garden in the world - for there is no such thing as too much of a good thing.

Happy planting!