The approach of Spring always makes me thing about all the reasons I garden. There are obvious ones:
- Gardening can mean the difference between eating, at all or eating well.
- Gardening saves money! No big investment is required. You
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Cukes growing up an old inner spring I found.
probably own most of the tools you might need and you can get the rest on Craigslist — cheap!
- Gardening lets you choose what you grow and harvest instead of relying on what large-scale growers can grow quickly and cheaply so, heirlooms are always on the list at my house and so are some weird, wonderful and different veggies.
- Gardening can mean eating healthy fruits and vegetables that are NOT loaded with pesticides and fungicides and overtly and covertly changing your body’s ability to fight off chronic illnesses like diabetes, kidney and liver disease and even dental caries.
Then there are the reasons that only other gardeners might know:
- Visiting the garden early in the morning to pull weeds or maybe plant some more seeds, listening to birds waking up and calling to each other, watching mist swirl away — clouds returning to heaven — puts you a little closer to the center of the Universe than anything else can.
- Watching seeds sprout and plants grow, seeing the first fruit set and harvesting leaves of fresh kale or spinach or baby lettuce are all tender moments which every gardener savours, every time these moments occur.
- Sitting at your desk, closing your eyes, seeing your garden and feeling the peace you find there helps to let go of all the anger and sorrow that our long, stressful, work days can sometimes bring.
- Running home, ripping off your shoes and socks and standing, barefoot, in soil warmed by the sun literally grounds you.
- Celebrating life — gardening is a celebration of life — all kinds, all shapes, all sizes and all colors brings such deep joy.
Gardening is also a small but significant step on the road to saving ourselves and our planet. If everyone in every community joined in – grew their own, shopped local, thought about the environment EVERY time they bought, used or tossed out, we could work together to help save this planet, our home which we sail through space on.
Why do you garden?
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