The Dirt: Tree therapy, how gardening rocks, and the cutest fence

This summer the Buçaco National Forest in Portugal was officially named as a “therapeutic forest” by the Healing Forest International Certification Office, joining three others in Germany and Austria. What it takes to qualify as a location with therapeutic value: minimal noise, protection from wind, trails of different degrees of difficulty, areas to relax and exercise, and the regular services of trained forest therapists. This 260-acre location with more than 250 species of trees and shrubs includes the ruins of a former convent circa 1628, a valley of giant tree ferns, and a centuries-old native-only forest. Can we get an Rx for a visit?

A micro-forest can be the answer for overworked land. A decades-old Japanese method called the Miyawaki forest, aka a “pocket forest,” is getting very popular. It can pack as many as 350 trees into the square footage of six parking spaces. Crowding a sliver of land with saplings causes competition for the sun, meaning quick growth. Worth noting: Don’t expect deep woods overnight. The technique needs intensive watering early on and takes 20 to 30 years to mature.

Moving from the forest to the backyard, this adorbs garden fence topped with bunnies, corgis, and frogs got over one million views for its creator. In response, she added instructions for how she mounted resin, wood, and fiberglass animal figurines painted white onto her fence posts. Are you ready to have the most admired fence on your street? Have at it!

A new book, The Gravel Garden: Visionary, Drought-Defying, Naturalistic Designs by Jeff Epping and Teresa Woodard, is a guide to gravel gardening, in which drought-tolerant perennials are planted in a deep layer of gravel. This type of ecological can be a boon in a time of climate change: The practice conserves water and suppresses weeds. Bonus points for the way a patch of pea gravel with some metal garden chairs will give your place a straight-from-Provence vibe.

Wondering how your backyard behavior stacks up against your generation’s gardening habits? Download the Axiom 2026 Gardening Outlook Study and analyze away. Gens Y and Z are virtually tied as the top age segments expecting to spend more time gardening this year. And here’s at a tidbit that’s constant, regardless of age: The phone app used the most to learn about new plants is Google Lens, at 41.5%. So are you average…or an outlier?  Happy gardening either way!