Gardening: good for mind, body and soul.

My gardening experiences started in my youth. All my mom ever wanted for Mother's Day or any other holiday was "yard work". At least at 12 it felt like work, or better yet punishment. I would have rather spent $50 on a gift then weeded around the porch, mow the yard, or a number of other garden tasks. As I grew up, I spent more time with my papa in his garden. Garden doesn’t even seem to paint a picture of his work of art. I realized it wasn’t work to him, yes there was labor involved but it was labor of love. He spent his mornings out in the yard or in his beautiful greenhouse attached to the house growing, transplanting and tending to the various fruit trees, bushes, or other various perennials growing vibrantly wherever they please. I fell in love with gardening that first summer, it changed from work to something I wanted to get up early to do. 

 

A few pictures from my papa's masterpiece

Gardening is not only nourishing to the body because of what you harvest, but also the effort of gardening is physical exercise without having to go to the gym. Here are some of the benefits I have found in gardening:

1. Movement – mowing, clipping, planting, harvesting. I am always moving and make a conscious effort to stretch and use good body mechanics.
2. Delicious Fruits and vegetables – fruits and vegetables grown in your own garden with your own labor taste unlike anything you can purchase from anywhere else even a farmers market. There is something delicious and special about taking something from the garden to the table that is if it makes it in the house. J  
3. Time to Meditate – however it is you spend the majority of your time is likely to produce some amount of stress which can lead to mental and physical exhaustion. Spending time in the gardening with your hands and feet in the dirt allows time to ground yourself. When most of our life is spent engulfed in technology it is important to make time to reconnect with the earth. Gardening allows for that time.
4. From seed to flower – there is something magic about helping Mother Nature grow her seeds. Learning to grow plants is an art and like any artist knows is full of trials and errors and the beauty is found in the process.
5. Solo or with Friends – I spend most of my time in the garden with my hopes, dreams and fears and love the time to reflect. But a great deal of joy comes from sharing my garden experience with a friend or loved one. 

And if you don’t have the space to garden at home or are new and would rather garden with friends, find a community garden in your area. Here is a beautiful community garden in Shoreline that not only has individual plots, but also grows food to donate to the local food bank. Check out their blog: http://www.twinpondsgarden.org/blog/