Gardening is a meaningful way to cultivate self-love. It's like meditation – a time to be still and listen to the sounds of the outdoors and to your own voice.
This soil on our earth nourishes plant roots and gardeners alike. Getting hands dirty in soil is just plain healthy for many of us. It can be a form of therapy, and other gardeners agree. Gardening is successfully used with veterans and victims of disasters and at rehabilitation centers. Plants and gardening help people who have had traumatic experiences re-adjust. Gardening improves all aspects of people's lives.
Gardening can make one slow down and stop to literally smell the roses and the sweet scents of Nature, reconnecting us with this wonderful earth. When gardening, you share the energy of the earth; it's like having a relationship with Mother Nature herself.
We can learn a lot from Mother Nature. Facts our ancestors knew and passed down to us over the centuries. We may think an aspect of gardening is a new idea or concept, but more often than not, you'll find it has been around for decades.
Gardening is a canvas each season for creative beauty -- from the herbs growing in a kitchen window box to blossoms on fruit trees to large swaths of native blooms.
Gardening brings people together. Gardening with a loved one or a friend is a rewarding and special experience. It doesn't matter if the weather is cold or warm. Start working outside on a compost pile or fruit trees, and before you know it, important conversations are happening. Gardening is so relaxing that strolls down memory lane can happen, leading to laughter about the craziest things! It's simply spending real time together, shoulder to shoulder, rather than face to face. Plus, your present activity is groundwork for a future experience, like a weed-free flowerbed or a bountiful fruit harvest.
Gardening with kids and grandchildren can form a lasting bond that connects them to the earth through plants and the animal kingdom. Flowers, herbs, and vegetables might be some of the first plants they touch, but butterflies, snails, dragonflies, birds, and bees quickly enter the garden scene. Then there are lizards, toads, and the occasional snake. This all peaks their curiosity and their eagerness to learn how all of these creatures interact and live together in our world. Enter the sun, the moon, the stars, lightning, rainfall, and fog, and now their awareness of earth's natural resources increases. Gardening together is our opportunity to teach them about ecosystems and show them how to care for and appreciate this wonderful planet.
Gardening is a down-to-earth chore. Getting hands dirty, pulling weeds, dividing irises and other plants, turning a compost pile, all lead to "My Garden". It is a retreat from the crazy world and provides several places to sit and read quietly and feel the sun on your face while you contemplate that this garden is something that you created. That feeling of satisfaction is BIG and runs DEEP!
Community outreach demonstrates to others these intrinsic values associated with gardening that the average person may not appreciate at first. Gardening definitely keeps our hands busy and our bodies moving, while generating a big gift to ourselves. Plant trees in your yard to provide shade and help clean our dirty air. Plant containers or window boxes with herbs and native flowers, and nourish the bees and butterflies with nectar and pollen. Allow lady beetles, lacewings, and even spiders to run wild in your yard, for they will feed on aphids, flies, and whiteflies. Even a small garden or a few plants can add beauty and provide habitat for these valuable creatures.