Why do I garden?

If you’d have asked my Mom if she ever thought I’d be a gardener when I was a kid, she’d say ‘No way!’

She often tells how when I was really little, she’d put me in a laundry basket on the grass so she could garden. She knew I wouldn’t get out since I didn’t like to be dirty.

Fast forward many, many years and my first real full time job was in a greenhouse. You can read more about that story HERE. It was different than seeing my Mom work in her garden.

Maybe it was because I was growing up, maybe it was because it was my choice; but I knew that there was something about those plants that I wanted to learn more about.

A sense of awe and wonder

My first taste of horticulture was in that first greenhouse job. You can read more about that story HERE. I was tasked with propagating house plants and seeding little annual seeds.

I was able to watch these little sticks and leaves go from being cut off a plant and growing roots! Then those teeny little seeds were buried and then coming to life!

It was a real life exposure to the awe and wonder of creation. It was a touch of the joy that God must have had when he pronounced His work as Good!

This amazement continued in College as I took Plant Physiology (how a plant works) classes. For me, the practical acts of pruning, planting and harvest mirrored everything I had read in the bible.

I needed to learn more and more about these plants. At this point I didn’t know where this was going, but I just knew I was where I was needed to be.

Gardening gets me out of the house

I’m a bit of a homebody. If I don’t have a specific reason to leave the house, I can come up with all sorts of reasons to stay inside.

When the weather gets warmer it gives me a reason to head outside. I get to witness new growth and get excited to see the changes every day.

I have summers off from my bus driving job and gardening gives me a reason to get up in the morning. I can always come up with reasons to garden rather than clean house!!

Gardening gives me hope

Winter lasts for 5-6 months here in Alberta. By March I start itching for a break of all the white snow or the brown ground if it’s been a snow free winter.

I’m tired of wearing my parka and winter boots.

When I see the dripping eaves, I get excited about new growth.

I love when winter comes as it’s a sign for rest, but come spring I’m ready and hopeful for the new season ahead of me.

Gardening gives my life beauty

Gardening allows me to bring beauty into my life. I don’t have a need for fancy cars or clothes. But when I walk in my garden the beauty around me speaks to my soul. It calms me.

That beauty is as simple as seeing the first spring bloom or bringing in a few cut flower stems to my kitchen.

Our lives are over full and stepping into beauty that you helped nourish is something so amazing!

Gardening give me an escape

We live in a world of fast food, fast fashion, fast connection and a need for instant gratification. Gardening shows me that I need to slow down and wait.

I step out of the social media world into the presence of God’s creation. It allows me to slow my mind and commune with my Creator.

Often I can go a hour in silence in the garden and not even notice.

Gardening gives me a reason to have a collection

Inside my home I strive to live a more intentional and minimal life. I try to only keep what we need and let go of the excess.

When it comes to plants I let loose that inner collector.

I give myself permission to go overboard with all things plants. Why only 1 of that colour when I could have 1 of every colour?

I love wandering down the aisles of greenhouses and nurseries trying to find a plant that I don’t have in my collection.

So much more….

There are so many more reasons to garden but these are the ones that stick out in my life.

Why do you garden? Leave a comment below and we can chat about how we are plant hoarders collectors together!