Thank you, Mother Nature. Summer temperatures are ahead for Southern California this weekend, just in time for one of our favorite days all year.
Yes, Saturday is the 17th annual World Naked Gardening Day!
Grab your tools and get outside for World Naked Gardening Day 2021 this Saturday, May 1. Photo: Jim Mumford
More good timing: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its guidance this week on COVID-19 mask guidelines. Fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear a mask outdoors. At home, you don’t need a mask outside, of course. Great news for the 30% of us who are fully vaccinated.
When we first found out about WNGD several years ago at Good Earth Plant Company, we got a big laugh out of it. Probably the same way you’re laughing right now. Laughter is good for your health any time of year, and have we ever needed laughs more than in the year we’ve just been through?
It started mostly as a joke for us. Who knew it would turn into one of Good Earth Plant Company’s most popular blog posts of all time? We are now the champions of World Naked Gardening Day. Google it! We accept our responsibility and take it seriously, although we never take ourselves overly seriously.
A Brief History of World Naked Gardening Day
The Naked Ladies statues in the gardens of York House in Twickenham, England, celebrate World Naked Gardening Day. The white Carrara marble statues came from Italy in the early 20th Century. They were recently restored and are on display in this municipal garden. Photo: Wikimedia
World Naked Gardening Day takes place on the first Saturday in May. Seattle resident and WNGD founder Mark Storey probably never imagined how big his idea would get. He encourages people to help spread the word, and we won’t let him down.
The world has changed so much since we last celebrated World Naked Gardening Day. But thankfully, Nature has always been open. Instinctively throughout the pandemic, people gravitated to plants, gardening, and even simple outdoor walks as a way to keep themselves mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy. Interest in indoor plants and gardening, in general, has never been higher. Let’s hope this is one pandemic trend that sticks around.
If you’re one of the people who is a new pandemic plant lover, fantastic! Now it’s time to take it to the next level.
The Reasons It’s Great to Garden Naked
Why garden naked? First of all, it’s fun – as long as you aren’t mooning your neighbors. I’m pretty sure Nina and Bill have seen more than they ever want to see from across the street.
“Second only to swimming, gardening is at the top of the list of family-friendly activities people are most ready to consider doing nude,” according to the World Naked Gardening Day website. “Moreover, our culture needs to move toward a healthy sense of both body acceptance and our relation to the natural environment.” We endorse this at Good Earth Plant Company.
Good Earth Plant Company stands behind World Naked Gardening Day! Photo: Jim Mumford
Along with wacky TikTok routines and clever social media photos using plants to cover exposed body parts, there is actual science behind World Naked Gardening Day. Biophilia is the science studying the connection between humans and nature, and there is more and more evidence proving it every day. WNGD encourages you to get closer to Mother Nature and enjoy outdoor spaces by watering, weeding, digging, planting, trimming and otherwise tending to your garden space as Mother Nature made you.
According to WNGD founder Mark Storey, it still counts if you celebrate wearing a sun hat, gardening gloves, and shoes. In San Diego, sunscreen is a must with our warmer than usual weather. Remember – your rarely exposed body parts will still burn even on a cloudy day.
The pandemic forced many people to start embracing their more authentic selves. We are paying attention to our health. This is really what WNGD is all about. Storey points out anyone can enjoy gardening at any age and any level of physical fitness.
Why garden naked? It’s good for your health!
During the coronavirus pandemic, gardening and nature gave us a way to relieve stress and enjoy a safe outdoor activity. Study after study shows how important it is for us to incorporate nature into our well-being. This has been our mission at Good Earth Plant Company for more than 40 years.
Tending a garden is an inherently healthy activity. It helps foster a sense of community in a shared passion, even when we weren’t able to share spaces with family and friends. In better times which are finally starting to come along, people of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels can join in. It’s fun, it doesn’t have to cost anything, and it strengthens our ties to nature – our biophilic connection.
Enjoy Nature Naturally on WNGD!
We get it. World Naked Gardening Day is a bit crazy. We crack all kinds of bad jokes and puns about it. We’re here for the slightly naughty social media and photos. Please share with us! Whatever gets people talking and thinking about nature, about their good health, and their connection to the natural world, we’re all about it.
As long as you practice social distance and obeying the law, have some harmless fun in the sun.
So this Saturday, May 1, celebrate the 17th annual World Naked Gardening Day by getting up and getting outside bright and early. Beat the heat of the day and enjoy some early morning sunshine. Open a door or window a little earlier in the morning than usual. Put on your hat, shorts, and sunscreen and take a walk. Take your dog or a neighbor’s dog. Dogs can go naked in public any time they want!
As part of World Naked Gardening Day, you are also supposed to tell someone about your experience. Tag Good Earth Plant Company on Facebook or Instagram and fill us in on your activities. PG-rated photos welcome! And start sending your naked gardening jokes to us as soon as you think of them.
Learn more at the official World Naked Gardening Day Facebook page and website.
A word of caution: be sure if you participate, do so responsibly. We do not want the blame if your neighbors complain to authorities about your WNGD day display.
Dig into World Naked Gardening Day. It’s always the first Saturday in May. Photo: Jim Mumford
In most states, it’s legal to be naked on your own property as long as you aren’t visible to the public. In California, if you’re in your own backyard, on private property, you are free to go without any clothes.
BUT here’s the language to make the lawyers happy. You can be sunbathing nude on private property and still be charged with indecent exposure if you can be seen fairly easily by the public or by neighbors who may take offense at your sunbathing. Technically you violate California’s indecent exposure law (Penal Code 314). Imagine having to explain to your family why you got arrested for gardening over the weekend.
No one wants to end up naked in a jail cell, but don’t blame the plants (or us!).
