Why do you keep a garden? How has gardening helped you in other areas of life?
Mystery seedling that survived neglect. Somehow has survived in its cell since early May. I think it may be a pepper.
by fuckintrippin413
40 Comments
kmtf75
It helps me decompress after a long work day
Poopular-nT-1209
Gives me stuff to do to ease my partying. Pride. Satisfaction. A skill that can feed my family. Fresh air. Not sitting on the couch. Helps me beat winter blues. List goes on and on
purplemarkersniffer
Keeps me connected to the outside. It teaches patience, perseverance, and learning the hard lessons of letting go. True life lessons are learned in the garden. The good and the bad, who can walk away from that?
Badgers_Are_Scary
Once you are forced to deal with death, you want to surround yourself with life. I put the seed in the ground and watch it grow. I care for it. I eat it’s fruit. I put the plant in the compost bin when it’s time. The compost feeds new plants. It gives me comfort.
QueenOwl1
Helps me with feeling like I’m accomplishing something day to day. This is my first year gardening and it has been a typical first year! lol many things died, my harvests have small and almost nonexistent 🥲 but! It’s a challenge that I need and love. I’m not currently working and while I have family and a loving partner around I don’t have friends so this helps with depression too.
Next season is on my horizon and I’m trying again and that gives me pride even in my ‘failed’ first attempt.
puccagirlblue
It teaches me (a very impatient person) patience & gives me a connection to nature that I don’t get in tech, working with a computer all day.
Select-Scientist-647
It’s relaxing and rewarding. When I’m feeling down, weeding really takes my mind off things. Seeing my plants grow from seed to fruit is really fulfilling. It is a lot of “honest” work, it also helps me feel closer to nature and the creator. ❤️
THespos
I like to putter. If I need to concentrate on a work deliverable, I’ll put flip-flops on and walk around my garden, pruning and harvesting and staking, sometimes turning my compost pile until I’ve organized my thoughts. Then I go back to my home office and bang it out.
No-Requirement6211
A conscious gardener spends every day deeply entangled in the cycle of life. Most humans cannot say that about themselves. Also the more you learn about gardening, the more you realize we as humans as well as the plants and soil and everything around us are all one and the same. Traveling to experience different cultures first hand, purposeful psychedelic experience, and a simple f$$$$$g garden have more power to cause a philosophical/spiritual shift in oneself more than anything
kaysarahkay
I’ve was super sick for many years and bedridden for a long time. After a major surgery I was gifted a little snake plant, I almost killed it but decided to learn about it and help her thrive while I myself was also learning to thrive in life again.
Now I have like 30 indoor plants, and a outdoor garden,it’s my reason to get out of bed. Medical PTSD and anxiety over trusting your own body is mentally so hard and i struggled to want to get out of bed. But now I go sit with my plants and look forward to caring for them and learning about each one. Gave me purpose again.
PigPen90
A few reasons. First, the enjoyment of putting in the hard work and literally reaping what I sowed. You get that bit of high from enjoying the harvest from the plants you worked so hard to cultivate.
Second, I absolutely LOVE home grown tomatoes. So does my father.
Third, my mother was a huge gardener as was my grandmother. I’m carrying on a tradition that just feels right.
LLCoolBeans_Esq
Originally, bc I found out how amazing home grown tomatos could be. Now, 5 or 6 years later, its bc I’ve become obsessed with all of it.
VisiblyannoyedluvU
I’m fascinated by watching plants grow and it’s awesome to be able to eat veggies I’ve grown from Seed. Sense of pride I suppose!
fuckintrippin413
It’s no wonder that gardeners are some of the most down to earth and awesome people ! Appreciate all of your thoughtful responses folks. Keep on gardening❤️
Comfortable_Use_9536
It helps me get outside every morning and start my day on the right foot. Doing my daily gardening rounds has become a healthy routine for me and its satisfying seeing progress. It helps me battle depression. I keep gardening because there’s always new challenges to approach and there’s an endless amount different plants I wanna try growing which keeps it exciting
qui-gon-gym501
Seeing things go full circle, everything has a purpose when you garden. Bees have their jobs which they execute tirelessly, the rain is like a gift, even death is reframed when you compost things and return them to the soil to create life and strength. You literally use death to create life. When you begin gardening you get more in tuned with the cycles of nature and life and death.
Nannarbuns
Just wanted to see if I could make something grow even if I didnt have a backyard. It also became an opportunity to learn brand new things and being ok with making mistakes.
Middle_Hedgehog6394
Save a lot of money on herb!!
metaljane666
I do it because plants are pretty. I super hardcore care about my garden being nice to look at. I also do it to have a ritual to take me outside every day. But mostly I like having a space to control my aesthetics, if that makes sense? I garden so I can have something pretty to look at and play with and sit near.
MAGGOT-BRAINS-
It’s very calming and it helps me learn how valuable our food really is instead of just shopping for it in the stores, I can learn and teach people. I love being able to see it grow like it’s my own kid lol
Ritalynns
Ya. That looks like a pepper. Seems that sometimes they forget to germinate then suddenly, when it’s too late, they start to grow. My favourite things to grow are peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. I love gardening because our summers in Saskatchewan are so short and it gives me an excellent excuse for being outdoors.
Eogh21
When I was a child, we had a large garden. We canned, dried and froze food to eat during the winter months. My sister and I had the inevitable job of having to weed, hoe, and (the worst) picking green beans. The tomato fights were fun. Hit your sister in the butt with a wormy tomato. Call her Tomato Butt. Good times.
My mom thought I was going to be a lawyer because I made the argument while picking beans MIGHT benefit the part of the family that liked green beans, it didn’t benefit me. I hated picking and breaking green beans. And I swore to myself, if I ever had children, I’d never force them to work in the garden. In fact, I was never, ever going to have a garden.
And then I got married and had kids. And lost my job. Company was bought out. Everyone in our office became redundant. Money was tight. I had $100 to $105. dollars a month to spend on groceries, including soap, laundry detergent, toilet paper. You get the picture.
So, the next spring I prepared a garden space. Seeds cost a lot less then, so for the price of a can of green beans, or corn, or carrots, I could buy a packet of seeds. My birthday money went to buying tomato sets. And I had a garden.
Anyone who has any children will tell you, your privacy is shot. Can’t close the door to take a bath or use the restroom, especially if your the mom. So working in the garden became my ME time. I could work in the garden to my little hearts content and no one would bother me.
Except my husband was no any good at watching the kids. Unless they actually broke his line of sight, he was hooked to the TV. Next thing, they are out in the garden with me.
They loved watching the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. They liked picking and breaking beans. They loved to pop cherry tomatoes into their gaping maws. They were so PROUD their mom raised the food we ate. And canned, dried and froze it for consumption during the winter months. We even made catsup.
I gave them each a section of garden which they could use to grow whatever they wanted. The only rule was, if it’s fruits or vegetables, they have to eat what they planted. So they grew purple carrots, blue corn and potatoes, purple green beans and broccoli, yellow fleshed watermelon and different flavored basil. And they eat it.
Now I am retired. Funny thing, It’s just my husband and I and my garden is the same size as when the kids lived here. It is the reason I get out of bed.
I miss my kids. The oldest has a raised bed garden behind his apartment. We trade pictures. I sent him my grandmother’s Ball Canning Book. The youngest lives on the 3rd floor of his apartment building. But he has a balcony and grow herbs and cat grass. He also has a beautiful succulent container garden.
And even though they live 1800 miles away, and I don’t see them as often as I’d like, when I garden, they are there.
moonbeammeup1
I started my garden this spring when I was 5 months postpartum. It has helped me from slipping into postpartum depression, forced me to have a morning routine, and gives baby and I a reason to go outside multiple times a day!
actual_investor4fun
Teach me to relish the good moments and little things
sqral
For the large part to make sure my nan stays fed and that the pepper plants my papaw took seeds from before he died will always be around
Kammy44
Growing good food is a bonus. It resets my mind. I find it easier to focus on my connection to God. I can pray in my garden so easily. The plants tell me what they want, I’ve just learned to listen.
fuckinstatic
Just got sober from a 9 year brutal addiction in March, planted a tomato seed out of boredom and now have too many types of plants to remember lol. It’s helped me through the toughest part of getting sober and still is. It’s just very relaxing and blissful and a good feeling once you see your plants start to grow !
Mr_Bluebird_VA
This is our first year gardening, after years of me wanting to do it.
My favorite part is that it’s actually another way for me to show the people in my life that I love them. I love giving friends and family food from our garden and I love their reactions.
the_good_engineer
What a loaded couple of questions!
Let’s see, I had a significant health scare in January, ended up not being overly life-threatening, but certainly life changing (hemiplegic migraines). I couldn’t work for several weeks, I could barely get off the couch while we got my meds sorted out. Once the weather warmed up, I wanted something to do outside that wasn’t overly physically strenuous, but also hard enough that I could rebuild muscle and keep my mind busy. I’ve since come to thoroughly enjoy my evening rounds, watering, checking plants and fruits, it’s great.
I have a pretty intense job at times. Coming home to cathartic time with the hoe, rake, weeding, etc. It’s really a great way to put into perspective how little my job matters when it comes to the real world.
Delicious, clean, fresh, and preservable veggies are also a great positive! We just ate our first can of green beans with our supper tonight, and man, were they good!
I’ve enjoyed sharing our moderate bumper crop of radishes, lettuce, and peppers with friends. It’s really fun to talk about how our gardens are doing, what we are doing for the fall, and our plans for next year.
Being able to teach my toddler, expected kiddo, and other future kids, where food comes from, the science of food, etc. that’s all just added fun since my wife and I are planning on homeschooling.
Feeling the generational connection with my grandparents, greats, great-greats, and so-on is icing on the cake for me. That connection is why I’m growing sweet sorghum, just a throwback to the old family, a deep connection I feel all the time when I look out at the garden.
So, a long answer to a couple of short questions, I suppose.
Nik_Knack3222
It gives me such peace- I nurture, I care for and I thank each and every leaf and veg! I get an opportunity to be happy…
DarthButtercup
I’m recovering from a massive abdominal surgery with a side of cancer and my garden gets me outside at least every other day. It’s definitely scaled down from last year but there’s plenty of herbs. I’ve got watermelon and Cinderella pumpkin both doing well too.
ComplaintNo6835
Gardening helped me lose the weight. Both because I want to eat what I grow and the elbow grease. 50 lbs this year.
I also work through a lot of my issues while weeding. It’s my therapy. I should probably go to therapy too but I’m in the US so financially that’s not an option.
uconnhuskyforever
Originally got into gardening because i was really struggling with seasonal affective disorder. The winters are long and gray, and having a new hobby to deep dive and spend time on gave me something to look forward to. Spending time next to all the grow lights helped too! Honestly, by June/July when it comes time to harvest things, I’m pretty uninterested. I’m here for the prep and anticipation!
Royal_Room1238
Food, flowers, exercise, and spiritual enlightenment! Gardening teaches life lessons if we just pay attention.
1. Weeds always grow among good seeds. So when I look at humanity, some people are born like the dandelions. Annoying, but they have a purpose.
2. In order to live, there is always a death. Do my carrots scream when I harvest them? I’ll never know.
3. The best garden grows in sh!% So when life gives you manure, remember this is when your best growth in life will happen!
groovemove86
I garden for many of the same reasons stated above. One that makes me feel the best is providing a habitat for local wildlife. Also, for the ability to not pay for the sticky icky.
waltercorgkite
I needed a place to put a lot of mental and physical energy to help with my mental health. Being able to focus on learning about plants has really helped me overall. My partner joined in and enjoys not only the financial savings but also how it’s helped us be more connected too.
SheenPSU
It’s a fun thing to do. I’m always thinking about what I’m going to make with what I grow. I look for new things to grow to use/turn into something.
It also keeps me outside a bunch between the prepping of my beds, planting, watering, weeding, pruning, harvesting, etc
Finally, you get a reward at the end!
Mrshaydee
It helps me shut my overactive mind down. I get totally absorbed in gardening. Also, I do my best to nurture what I plant, but also have to accept that I have to let go of being able to control the outcome. I garden in Colorado and our soil is poor and our weather is crazy.
edfoldsred
It has surrounded me with life and many forms of it. I now live for the soil and the plants and the birds and the insects (except you g’damn grasshoppers this year).
It reconnected my experience of life with the experience of the seasons. Living in an apartment for close to two decades I kind of lost that. Now I’m much more aware of them and look forward to all of them. Gardening makes me slow down and the enjoy the seconds. It helps middle age stop zipping by, if even for a few moments. It’s taught me longterm planning, but also planning my time spent in the garden every day.
It got me really into woodworking, building garden beds and trellises, birdhouses and feeders, and hopefully a greenhouse next spring.
It got me into stewardship and conservation, both land and water. We ripped out all of our lawns and replaced with native pollinators and woodchips. I’ve never seen so many insects on plants as I have this year and last. We save 8,000 to 9,000 gallons of water each month not having a lawn.
It rekindled my love of mycology. I used to grow psilocybin mushrooms for years, but lost interest. But when we finally bought a house with room for a garden, I know I wanted to grow outdoors, so I started two Wine Cap mushroom beds this year and am hoping for fruiting bodies in the fall.
CinB0485
It’s my first time trying to keep something alive (luckily my cats and dog have their own will to live). I’ve killed aloe and spider plants in the past. People swear you can’t kill those. I sure did. lol. Now I have my first two TINY tomato’s growing. It feels good to see my work amount to something (besides a paycheck that will just go towards bills anyways). And I don’t want to get..dramatic but I think it’s a good idea to learn how to fend for ourselves these days. I’m not a Hunter or anything but if I can grow some food- cool! I’m also couponing and I resell (some) of my supply so that helps too.
40 Comments
It helps me decompress after a long work day
Gives me stuff to do to ease my partying. Pride. Satisfaction. A skill that can feed my family. Fresh air. Not sitting on the couch. Helps me beat winter blues. List goes on and on
Keeps me connected to the outside. It teaches patience, perseverance, and learning the hard lessons of letting go. True life lessons are learned in the garden. The good and the bad, who can walk away from that?
Once you are forced to deal with death, you want to surround yourself with life. I put the seed in the ground and watch it grow. I care for it. I eat it’s fruit. I put the plant in the compost bin when it’s time. The compost feeds new plants. It gives me comfort.
Helps me with feeling like I’m accomplishing something day to day. This is my first year gardening and it has been a typical first year! lol many things died, my harvests have small and almost nonexistent 🥲 but! It’s a challenge that I need and love. I’m not currently working and while I have family and a loving partner around I don’t have friends so this helps with depression too.
Next season is on my horizon and I’m trying again and that gives me pride even in my ‘failed’ first attempt.
It teaches me (a very impatient person) patience & gives me a connection to nature that I don’t get in tech, working with a computer all day.
It’s relaxing and rewarding. When I’m feeling down, weeding really takes my mind off things. Seeing my plants grow from seed to fruit is really fulfilling. It is a lot of “honest” work, it also helps me feel closer to nature and the creator. ❤️
I like to putter. If I need to concentrate on a work deliverable, I’ll put flip-flops on and walk around my garden, pruning and harvesting and staking, sometimes turning my compost pile until I’ve organized my thoughts. Then I go back to my home office and bang it out.
A conscious gardener spends every day deeply entangled in the cycle of life. Most humans cannot say that about themselves. Also the more you learn about gardening, the more you realize we as humans as well as the plants and soil and everything around us are all one and the same. Traveling to experience different cultures first hand, purposeful psychedelic experience, and a simple f$$$$$g garden have more power to cause a philosophical/spiritual shift in oneself more than anything
I’ve was super sick for many years and bedridden for a long time. After a major surgery I was gifted a little snake plant, I almost killed it but decided to learn about it and help her thrive while I myself was also learning to thrive in life again.
Now I have like 30 indoor plants, and a outdoor garden,it’s my reason to get out of bed. Medical PTSD and anxiety over trusting your own body is mentally so hard and i struggled to want to get out of bed. But now I go sit with my plants and look forward to caring for them and learning about each one. Gave me purpose again.
A few reasons. First, the enjoyment of putting in the hard work and literally reaping what I sowed. You get that bit of high from enjoying the harvest from the plants you worked so hard to cultivate.
Second, I absolutely LOVE home grown tomatoes. So does my father.
Third, my mother was a huge gardener as was my grandmother. I’m carrying on a tradition that just feels right.
Originally, bc I found out how amazing home grown tomatos could be. Now, 5 or 6 years later, its bc I’ve become obsessed with all of it.
I’m fascinated by watching plants grow and it’s awesome to be able to eat veggies I’ve grown from
Seed. Sense of pride I suppose!
It’s no wonder that gardeners are some of the most down to earth and awesome people ! Appreciate all of your thoughtful responses folks. Keep on gardening❤️
It helps me get outside every morning and start my day on the right foot. Doing my daily gardening rounds has become a healthy routine for me and its satisfying seeing progress. It helps me battle depression. I keep gardening because there’s always new challenges to approach and there’s an endless amount different plants I wanna try growing which keeps it exciting
Seeing things go full circle, everything has a purpose when you garden. Bees have their jobs which they execute tirelessly, the rain is like a gift, even death is reframed when you compost things and return them to the soil to create life and strength. You literally use death to create life. When you begin gardening you get more in tuned with the cycles of nature and life and death.
Just wanted to see if I could make something grow even if I didnt have a backyard. It also became an opportunity to learn brand new things and being ok with making mistakes.
Save a lot of money on herb!!
I do it because plants are pretty. I super hardcore care about my garden being nice to look at. I also do it to have a ritual to take me outside every day. But mostly I like having a space to control my aesthetics, if that makes sense? I garden so I can have something pretty to look at and play with and sit near.
It’s very calming and it helps me learn how valuable our food really is instead of just shopping for it in the stores, I can learn and teach people. I love being able to see it grow like it’s my own kid lol
Ya. That looks like a pepper. Seems that sometimes they forget to germinate then suddenly, when it’s too late, they start to grow.
My favourite things to grow are peppers, tomatoes, and garlic.
I love gardening because our summers in Saskatchewan are so short and it gives me an excellent excuse for being outdoors.
When I was a child, we had a large garden. We canned, dried and froze food to eat during the winter months. My sister and I had the inevitable job of having to weed, hoe, and (the worst) picking green beans. The tomato fights were fun. Hit your sister in the butt with a wormy tomato. Call her Tomato Butt. Good times.
My mom thought I was going to be a lawyer because I made the argument while picking beans MIGHT benefit the part of the family that liked green beans, it didn’t benefit me. I hated picking and breaking green beans. And I swore to myself, if I ever had children, I’d never force them to work in the garden. In fact, I was never, ever going to have a garden.
And then I got married and had kids. And lost my job. Company was bought out. Everyone in our office became redundant. Money was tight. I had $100 to $105. dollars a month to spend on groceries, including soap, laundry detergent, toilet paper. You get the picture.
So, the next spring I prepared a garden space. Seeds cost a lot less then, so for the price of a can of green beans, or corn, or carrots, I could buy a packet of seeds. My birthday money went to buying tomato sets. And I had a garden.
Anyone who has any children will tell you, your privacy is shot. Can’t close the door to take a bath or use the restroom, especially if your the mom. So working in the garden became my ME time. I could work in the garden to my little hearts content and no one would bother me.
Except my husband was no any good at watching the kids. Unless they actually broke his line of sight, he was hooked to the TV. Next thing, they are out in the garden with me.
They loved watching the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. They liked picking and breaking beans. They loved to pop cherry tomatoes into their gaping maws. They were so PROUD their mom raised the food we ate. And canned, dried and froze it for consumption during the winter months. We even made catsup.
I gave them each a section of garden which they could use to grow whatever they wanted. The only rule was, if it’s fruits or vegetables, they have to eat what they planted. So they grew purple carrots, blue corn and potatoes, purple green beans and broccoli, yellow fleshed watermelon and different flavored basil. And they eat it.
Now I am retired. Funny thing, It’s just my husband and I and my garden is the same size as when the kids lived here. It is the reason I get out of bed.
I miss my kids. The oldest has a raised bed garden behind his apartment. We trade pictures. I sent him my grandmother’s Ball Canning Book. The youngest lives on the 3rd floor of his apartment building. But he has a balcony and grow herbs and cat grass. He also has a beautiful succulent container garden.
And even though they live 1800 miles away, and I don’t see them as often as I’d like, when I garden, they are there.
I started my garden this spring when I was 5 months postpartum. It has helped me from slipping into postpartum depression, forced me to have a morning routine, and gives baby and I a reason to go outside multiple times a day!
Teach me to relish the good moments and little things
For the large part to make sure my nan stays fed and that the pepper plants my papaw took seeds from before he died will always be around
Growing good food is a bonus. It resets my mind. I find it easier to focus on my connection to God. I can pray in my garden so easily. The plants tell me what they want, I’ve just learned to listen.
Just got sober from a 9 year brutal addiction in March, planted a tomato seed out of boredom and now have too many types of plants to remember lol. It’s helped me through the toughest part of getting sober and still is. It’s just very relaxing and blissful and a good feeling once you see your plants start to grow !
This is our first year gardening, after years of me wanting to do it.
My favorite part is that it’s actually another way for me to show the people in my life that I love them. I love giving friends and family food from our garden and I love their reactions.
What a loaded couple of questions!
Let’s see, I had a significant health scare in January, ended up not being overly life-threatening, but certainly life changing (hemiplegic migraines). I couldn’t work for several weeks, I could barely get off the couch while we got my meds sorted out. Once the weather warmed up, I wanted something to do outside that wasn’t overly physically strenuous, but also hard enough that I could rebuild muscle and keep my mind busy. I’ve since come to thoroughly enjoy my evening rounds, watering, checking plants and fruits, it’s great.
I have a pretty intense job at times. Coming home to cathartic time with the hoe, rake, weeding, etc. It’s really a great way to put into perspective how little my job matters when it comes to the real world.
Delicious, clean, fresh, and preservable veggies are also a great positive! We just ate our first can of green beans with our supper tonight, and man, were they good!
I’ve enjoyed sharing our moderate bumper crop of radishes, lettuce, and peppers with friends. It’s really fun to talk about how our gardens are doing, what we are doing for the fall, and our plans for next year.
Being able to teach my toddler, expected kiddo, and other future kids, where food comes from, the science of food, etc. that’s all just added fun since my wife and I are planning on homeschooling.
Feeling the generational connection with my grandparents, greats, great-greats, and so-on is icing on the cake for me. That connection is why I’m growing sweet sorghum, just a throwback to the old family, a deep connection I feel all the time when I look out at the garden.
So, a long answer to a couple of short questions, I suppose.
It gives me such peace- I nurture, I care for and I thank each and every leaf and veg! I get an opportunity to be happy…
I’m recovering from a massive abdominal surgery with a side of cancer and my garden gets me outside at least every other day. It’s definitely scaled down from last year but there’s plenty of herbs. I’ve got watermelon and Cinderella pumpkin both doing well too.
Gardening helped me lose the weight. Both because I want to eat what I grow and the elbow grease. 50 lbs this year.
I also work through a lot of my issues while weeding. It’s my therapy. I should probably go to therapy too but I’m in the US so financially that’s not an option.
Originally got into gardening because i was really struggling with seasonal affective disorder. The winters are long and gray, and having a new hobby to deep dive and spend time on gave me something to look forward to. Spending time next to all the grow lights helped too! Honestly, by June/July when it comes time to harvest things, I’m pretty uninterested. I’m here for the prep and anticipation!
Food, flowers, exercise, and spiritual enlightenment!
Gardening teaches life lessons if we just pay attention.
1. Weeds always grow among good seeds. So when I look at humanity, some people are born like the dandelions. Annoying, but they have a purpose.
2. In order to live, there is always a death. Do my carrots scream when I harvest them? I’ll never know.
3. The best garden grows in sh!% So when life gives you manure, remember this is when your best growth in life will happen!
I garden for many of the same reasons stated above. One that makes me feel the best is providing a habitat for local wildlife. Also, for the ability to not pay for the sticky icky.
I needed a place to put a lot of mental and physical energy to help with my mental health. Being able to focus on learning about plants has really helped me overall. My partner joined in and enjoys not only the financial savings but also how it’s helped us be more connected too.
It’s a fun thing to do. I’m always thinking about what I’m going to make with what I grow. I look for new things to grow to use/turn into something.
It also keeps me outside a bunch between the prepping of my beds, planting, watering, weeding, pruning, harvesting, etc
Finally, you get a reward at the end!
It helps me shut my overactive mind down. I get totally absorbed in gardening. Also, I do my best to nurture what I plant, but also have to accept that I have to let go of being able to control the outcome. I garden in Colorado and our soil is poor and our weather is crazy.
It has surrounded me with life and many forms of it. I now live for the soil and the plants and the birds and the insects (except you g’damn grasshoppers this year).
It reconnected my experience of life with the experience of the seasons. Living in an apartment for close to two decades I kind of lost that. Now I’m much more aware of them and look forward to all of them. Gardening makes me slow down and the enjoy the seconds. It helps middle age stop zipping by, if even for a few moments. It’s taught me longterm planning, but also planning my time spent in the garden every day.
It got me really into woodworking, building garden beds and trellises, birdhouses and feeders, and hopefully a greenhouse next spring.
It got me into stewardship and conservation, both land and water. We ripped out all of our lawns and replaced with native pollinators and woodchips. I’ve never seen so many insects on plants as I have this year and last. We save 8,000 to 9,000 gallons of water each month not having a lawn.
It rekindled my love of mycology. I used to grow psilocybin mushrooms for years, but lost interest. But when we finally bought a house with room for a garden, I know I wanted to grow outdoors, so I started two Wine Cap mushroom beds this year and am hoping for fruiting bodies in the fall.
It’s my first time trying to keep something alive (luckily my cats and dog have their own will to live). I’ve killed aloe and spider plants in the past. People swear you can’t kill those. I sure did. lol. Now I have my first two TINY tomato’s growing. It feels good to see my work amount to something (besides a paycheck that will just go towards bills anyways). And I don’t want to get..dramatic but I think it’s a good idea to learn how to fend for ourselves these days. I’m not a Hunter or anything but if I can grow some food- cool! I’m also couponing and I resell (some) of my supply so that helps too.