Why do I garden?
There is no single reason that underscores why I like to grow plants, just as
there is no single plant, I like to grow more than the others. There are a
number of reasons why I enjoy spending time in a garden.
First, I believe
that people need a hobby, interest or activity, call it what you will, that
takes their minds off their day to day realities.
All of us are busy
and often have a number of different thoughts or things to do that are
competing for our attention.
Speaking of things
to do, your hobby or personal interest should not result in you developing
another list of things to do. That is not helpful and may indeed take the fun
out of the doing.
That does not mean
that you do not make a plan, without a plan you may never get started or get
started and then have no idea what to do next.
It simply means
that your plan is not the law; it is not engraved in stone, and can be changed
or tossed aside, in favour of another approach.
I find gardening to
be the perfect activity and that is primarily why I garden. It can keep me
enjoyable occupied all year round, either doing it; reading about it; ordering
seeds or planning the garden and even redrawing last year’s plans.
When I sit down
with a seed catalogue, the day’s news and events slip from the forefront of my mind and images of what the plants will look like when they
grow.
This leads to
giving some thought to where the new plant(s) will look best and where they
will most benefit in the existing garden.
Will this be the
year I plant that flowering crab-apple that I have been reading about or
perhaps a redwood dogwood. These thoughts nudge out the concerns about the
economy, the environment and all the bad news that fills the media.
An hour spent with
a seed catalogue in the deep of winter refreshes my mind and awakens the hope
that Spring brings when the gardening season begins anew and old friends
reappear and new ones are waiting to be discovered.
I garden because I
love spending time outside; feeling the wind and the sun on my face and hands.
Of course, these
days you need to protect yourself from any prolonged exposure to the sun’s rays
but a hat works and gardening gloves serve many purposes.
I love to grow
things; there is immense satisfaction and sense of accomplishment from
watching a flower come alive from a seed that you planted a few weeks prior.
Gardening offers
you an opportunity to make decisions and choices. It is your garden. You can
decide what you want to grow; how much you want to grow and what you will do
with what you choose to grow.
I often refer to
the garden as a place that exists between Nature and Civilization and the gardener is responsible for maintaining the balance between the two. When you
create a garden, you are opening the door to remembering the connection that
exist between humans and Nature; a connection that is very real, whether we
acknowledge it or not.
Gardens do not
require chemicals poured over them to thrive; that is the gardener’s job to
create and maintain the conditions that allow the plants to mature and
reproduce.
The garden is a
learning ground where you can learn about botany, biology, math, history and
become acquainted first hand with the processes that make the garden grow.
You see the
relationships between the various beings who work with you to make your garden
grow.
Birds and
butterflies, for example, bring their beauty and other services to the
well-tended garden. Bees carry out the important work of pollination and you
observe the connection between what the bee does and your garden’s growth.
I garden because I
love to grow things and watching a plant break the surface as the seed spring
into life is always a wonder and an encouraging moment. I like to have cut
flowers for our house and do not want to buy them but step outside and cut them
myself. That way I know that they were grown without artificial pesticides and
fertilizers.
Tomatoes are a
favourite food but the ones I buy at the supermarket just do not have the
flavour that the ones I plucked off the vine in my own garden do.
It is only truly fresh
when the farthest distance it travels is the distance from my backyard to my
kitchen table.
Simply spending
time sitting in a comfortable chair in the backyard after a slow stroll through
my garden is one of the best ways that I know to calm my mind and relax at the
end of the workday.
As I take my first
step into the garden, I can feel the day’s concerns sliding off me. My eyes
begin to focus on the plants, their fruits and foliage as I look to see what
has changed and how each plant is faring.
Then when the quiet
inspection is complete, I sit back and watch the dance of life performed by the
bees, butterflies and other small creatures who are busy at work maintaining
the garden while I sit back and enjoy the view.
There are many reasons
to garden and each one of us may well have our own and that is another reason
that gardening is a delightful way to spend our time; our gardens are our own
creations; and we are free to pursue our own interest when in the garden.
Gardens, both great
and small, are a refuge from the concrete and asphalt world that surrounds so
many of us as we travel back and forth to work.
Anyone who wants
to, can garden; it is a matter of will and design and is a wonderful opportunity
to get away from it all without ever leaving home.
