Garden journal: why grow your own?
Remember those dresser drawer garden beds I built in early spring and left at Rose’s house (when we lived with my future mother-in-law)?
;)
Since our departure Rose has claimed her garden plot with vigor. She calls me to talk about her cukes’ progress, her morning and evening watering rituals. I can’t think of a better reward for salvaging those dresser drawers from their imminent bulk trash pick-up demise.
Here are some thoughts on why I garden. I’d love to hear your reasons in the comments section.
I don’t garden for the potential economy of doing so.
;)
I don’t garden for the yield, though when everything works as it should, it’s mighty exciting.
Kathie in Washington D.C. with her first harvest of homegrown snow peas!
I don’t garden because I like solving problems. (I admit, I do enjoy a bit of sleuthing.)
I garden because it’s nice to focus on something besides myself for a few moments in the morning and evening. I garden because fledgling plants bring my scale down to the tip of my fingers. I garden because every so-so growing experience is a lesson learned, an opportunity to try again.
;)
Rose and her empire of cucumber blossoms.
So long as we keep receiving spring’s charms and summer’s heat, I will continue to garden.
Why do you garden?
Garden & Outdoors, Gardening
Reader Comments (16)
Yeah, Rose!!!
It makes me peaceful. Even though the frustration can be high the feeling of helping something grow is worth it. I return to every year with the confidence that it will be the best year ever - though I'm not sure my skills improve.....
PS-I LOVE FOOD, too!
It keeps me sane. I live in Brooklyn, work in Manhattan, and the simple act of watering when I get home is enough to erase the frustrations of the day. And having the opportunity to commune with nature when you live in the city: priceless.
Love this post. I garden for the very same reasons. This year has been rough. It's my first time gardening in Texas. (And in containers, no less.) Most of my experience has been in New England, so you can imagine there is a very different set of rules! So far I have killed 1 spinach, 1 bok choy, 2 tomato plants, and a small army of herbs. My Thyme and Rosemary, however, are going strong!
What a lovely question :-) I garden because it keeps me connected, not just to the food or flowers I grow but to the other food I consume. It reminds me that life is about more than just my little spot of earth.
And it gives me perspective - the opportunity to learn, the reminder that good things are not always easy or fast, the reminder that I am not in charge!
And I garden because it gives me peace :-)
I garden, in part, to escape the monoculture so prevalent in North American grocery stores, and even at the farmers' markets. I don't want perfectly round tomatoes or staunchly orange carrots. Growing my own has allowed me to experience incredible diversity.
I think we garden to try to have more food on hand that we know is totally safe for the kids to eat.
So many reasons! The learning, the exercise, the food, but most of all for the sense of accomplishment like no other as I see my yard transformed.
Gardening provides productive channeling of anger management - after an hour of picking weeds Im am as cool as a cucumber.
I love the chance it provides for mentoring. Growing up with a single mother my grandparents esp my Pop were voracious gardeners. The best and sometimes strange gardening tips were those tidbits I learnt as a 5 year old. Then when I met my biological father when I was 19, I learnt that he is the biggest green thumb Ive ever met. Everything he touches, grows. And in turn, when my friends children and my 2 year old nephew come over I always take them into the garden (depending on weather) and ecourage them to explore and smell and taste, have a go at forking the soil, watering plants etc. Plus it practically garrentees they will eat whats on their plate because they cared for the plant that they picked :D
It gives me so much joy.
I love this post!
I garden to feel better about daily life. It seems that everything is very fast paced and complicated, so much so that we could become destructive or complacent without even realizing for some time. I feel better that I can come home and see that something productive has happened, moreover, something productive that I worked to nurture.
I garden as part of my moving, living, loving meditation as I journey through this life. I want to experience growing food from seeds and thankfully eating that same food. I want to enjoy the beauty of flowers and foliage as they honor my yard. I want be intimately ingrained in nature.
Hmm, why do I garden? What a great question; I've honestly never contemplated that before. Gardening is just something that I've always done. The first three reasons that pop into my head are: it's a family tradition/norm/expectation, fresh vegetables taste amazing, and it is fascinating to watch plants grow.
There's is no better sense of accomplishment than bringing your own food to life.
I'm not very good at, so it's a good thing I like the challenge, too.
What is not to love about gardening.... I love the spiritual feeling I get...No matter what mood I am in the garden takes me away....woosh...I get so much pleasure from canning my good,cooking my goods and giving my stuff to friends and family...My dirt it sings to me....well it could be the i pod but I think the dirt sings along....
I garden because I have to garden - it's part of who I am. My favorite thing to do is just putter around, pinch this and that, pull a weed or two, talk to my "babies" and revel in the new life.
Hmmm...I don't know, I just can't help myself.