You wouldn't be here if you weren't at least interested in gardening. Here are the reasons that I enjoy gardening so much and why I will always have a garden in one form or another.
1. Food!
This is the reason I started gardening. The need for cheap fresh food. My very first year I spent $13 on seeds and soil, used ANYTHING I had as a container. Butter tubs, a kiddy pool, coffee containers, old planters, etc. I knew that my garden wouldn't be pretty but as long as I was growing my own food I simply did not care. I was growing organic food and it tasted so much better and didn't cost me as much. I will not buy zucchini from a grocery store even though I LOVE zucchini. The ones at the store are sad and expensive. The quality I get from growing my own food is perfect and the taste can not compare and neither can the price.
2. Home Decor
The farm house look is very in. Whether its rustic, modern or classic it's really not complete without some fresh produce. Farm to fork, right? It simply brings me joy to bring in a basket of tomatoes, have homegrown potatoes and onions sitting on the counter, a bowlful of lemons... the list goes on and on. I'm not the biggest fan of growing flowers, however I love having them in the house. I also feel the "harvest" factor of cutting flowers to bring them inside. Home decorating is not "Life changing," but it makes me feel more at home and that's worth something.
3. Exercise
In general, I am typically live sedentary life style, but I spend time in my garden very nearly everyday. At the very least, I walk around my small backyard and inspect my plants... every time. I was pleased to learn that harvesting can burn 150 calories an hour, weeding burns about 250 calories an hour, while tilling burns about 400 calories an hour. It's no cross training, but everyday for about half an hour some times more sometimes less paired with plenty of garden fresh salads; I'm not mad about my figure.
4. Therapy
I talk to my plants... I do. Mostly about them, occasionally about me. On a serious note, I used to have an immensely stressful job and I was considerably unhappy with my life at the time. I had just began gardening and I would get off work and immediately walk straight into the backyard. Seeing the little yellow flowers on my tomatoes and my cucumbers. Seeing how much my blackberry bush had grown since the day before made my day better. Picking a zucchini that I'd been watching and waiting for the day I finally thought it was ready made my good or bad day better. Even if everything else wasn't turning out, my
garden was something that was (my cucumbers actually did not turn out).
5. Community
This may very well may be one of the least expected benefits of growing my own food. Finding out that other people are just as passionate about growing or learning to grow their own food. I love the gardening community. I love meeting up with people and sharing knowledge, seeds and produce. Yes, having gardening friends is a huge benefit in itself. There is almost always a surplus of harvest in any garden. Can't grow cucumbers (me neither) don't. Find someone who can and you'll likely benefit or at the very least could trade for another produce.
TO CONCLUDE:
It's because of these five things that gardening has impacted my life; my physical and mental wellness have been changed for the better. I will always grow food or flowers no matter where I am. It's more than a hobby, it has become a lifestyle. and I could not be more excited to be a gardener.
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