WHY DO WE GARDEN?

For many of us, gardening has become a way of life.  We mark our time and the seasons by the chores in our gardens that need to be completed.  We spend each winter waiting for the nursery catalogs to arrive.  Then we spend hours and hours reading about the offerings for the upcoming season.   When spring finally arrives, the plant sales and nurseries are our first priority whenever we leave home.  We spend hours planning, dreaming, scheming, digging, planting, hauling, mulching, weeding; and the list goes on.

And even when we wake up in the morning with tired, aching, and sore muscles, we rush through our household chores so that we can spend even more time in our gardens.  

Some practical reasons for gardening are to raise our own healthy food and perhaps feed others.

Beyond each individual’s need for safe and proper nutrition, the concept of community gardening has been growing for the last 15 years.  Many cities are now host to such garden endeavors.  In neighborhoods people come together to find a suitable community garden site.  There are currently more than 18,000 active community garden projects across America.  Richmond, VA is home to the Tricycle Garden in the Church Hill community.  Members of the community work together to till the soil, add amendments, and plant crops.  By sharing the cost, work and food grown, they save money, share a common interest, and in many cases bring neighborhoods of tremendously diverse cultures together.  Many such gardens make one of their goals the inclusion of the youth in the neighborhood.  By encouraging and educating the young people, as the years go by hopefully these children and teenagers will value their knowledge and experience and be more likely to begin gardening when they become adults.

Another great reason to garden is the Exercise.

We hear, read, and see so much about obesity (even in young children).   One rewarding way to increase physical activity is by starting a gardening project.   Even if you only plant one container, this activity increases your level of activity.  Because you have to find a container, soil, and plants, this usually takes at least one trip to a garden shop, nursery, or local “big box” store to find the items you will need.  While there, you invariably will decide to explore all the various sections of soil, fertilizers and soil amendments, mulches, seeds, plants in pots, tools, outdoor furniture, and accessories.  Then when you finally get back home from your shopping trip, the container has to be filled with potting mix, planted, watered, and checked on a regular basis.  And there is always the chance that one simple project will get you interested in doing other, more extensive gardening projects.

Some of us actually Garden to commune with nature, as a form of spiritual healing and meditation.

For this writer, gardening plays an integral part in my overall happiness.  Being outside, working with plants and soil gives me a feeling of being closer to nature and God.  My sense of achievement reaches new highs when my Granddaughter comes to visit and cuts fresh flowers for our dinner table.  Or, when I am cooking and need an herb, many times – rain or shine – I simply run to my herb garden, snip what I need and run back to my cooking.

To me, the spiritual side of gardening is never more evident than when I plant those tiny little seeds, and several days later I notice the first little plants pushing their way into the air above the soil.  As each plant grows, I have a tremendous sense of satisfaction in knowing I have helped bring this tiny plant to life.

It has been my pleasant experience to learn that Gardening is a great way to meet some very interesting and accomplished people.

I believe that one of the first things we all learn about gardening is that it is a universal interest.  There are gardeners young and old all across the United States and the world.  Gardeners are almost always willing to share, not just their knowledge and experiences, but extra plants.   Because I have found so many generous and knowledgeable gardeners who are happy to share, I often times refer to my gardens as a “Garden of Friends.”  When I walk through the various beds I have planted, I reflect not only on the beauty of the plants I am nurturing, but the wonderful friends who have shared their plants with me to help and encourage me.   A few of these are Jean, John, Chick, Sandy, Marianne, Joan, Gwen, and Jackie.  My list goes on and on and, certainly for me, these friends and their generosity will always be treasured.

Gardening for beauty’s sake is also an important aspect of gardening for many people.

When we have worked hard to create just the right flower bed, hedge, shrub border, or water garden, we can be justly proud of our endeavors.  Having soothing and beautiful areas in our yards where we can go to enjoy the quiet of a summer evening or relax with a book gives us a sense of peaceful respite from the fast-paced society in which we live.

Gardening for education is also important.

As I have grown in my gardening knowledge, I find that I always need to know more.  This fact keeps me busy learning about new plants, methods of pruning, propagating, tilling, and the many other aspects of gardening.  I have also found groups such as garden clubs, horticultural associations, landscape design schools, the Native Plant Society, and the Master Gardener program can provide a myriad of programs and information to further my knowledge.  Additionally, the first seed catalog to arrive at my mailbox is like a treasure.  I immediately have the urge to sit down and begin reading, studying, and planning for the coming spring.

Gardening for money can also be an incentive. 

Your homegrown produce, herbs, and cut flowers can be turned into dollars.  If you grow a crop sufficient for your own use and additional amounts to harvest and take to the local farmers market, you can actually make a bit of money. 

When one gardens as a creative venture, there is a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

Gardening can serve as an outlet for creative expression.  Shapes, textures, colors, line and form are all important aspects of art and gardening.  The home gardener can allow his or her creativity to take flight by installing experimental beds, new and unusual plant specimens of perennials, annuals, shrubs, small and large trees, as well as creating arbors, paths, habitats for wildlife, water gardens, and many other such projects.

Gardening is many times a memorable activity.

In many areas of our country, yards have become asphalt, mulch, and little more.  To create some special memories for children and grandchildren, try a cutting garden where flowers can be readily harvested.  Herb gardens are another great teaching tool for children.  Experiencing the texture and fragrance of herbs is an interesting, exciting, and wonderful way to introduce and encourage children to enjoy foods prepared with the bounty of the garden.

By encouraging our young people to get involved in growing vegetables, fruits, herbs, or flowers, we are providing memorable, outdoor fun for people of all ages.

Garden for posterity.

Gardening is a way to add value to your property.  Landscaping has become a very important aspect of the real estate market.  Prospective buyers often look at a home just from the outside and then decide whether to view the inside.   Quality, appropriate landscaping, can add (according to Realtor Magazine) approximately 15% to a home’s value.  In our busy society, prospective homeowners who have demanding jobs often look for properties with landscaping that is not only well established, but appears to have been in place for several years.

Gardening competitively is fast becoming a way to gain recognition for your accomplishments, as well as get acquainted with others who share your common interests.

Whether it be in a local garden club where members regularly bring their horticulture specimens for judging or on a grander scale such as a Cooperative Extension project or the local county fair when farmers haul in their pumpkins for weighing and prizes, gardening can truly become a competitive activity.  Who wouldn’t want to grow the largest pumpkin or tomato in the area or a potato shaped like the face of a saint?  The competition factor can become a huge incentive for avid gardeners and farmers alike.

In closing, I want to share with you a saying that has been around for many years: 

“In gardening, there is a beginning; there is a middle, but not an end.  Let gardening always be a work in progress and an activity we can look forward to pursuing.”  (Author unknown)