Contest!! Win a Pair of Ethel Gloves!
I’m excited to announce DigginFood’s first ever contest! The very nice folks at Ethel Gloves have offered up a free pair of gloves to three lucky winners. So how do you win?
All you have to do is leave a comment telling me the one thing I’ve been dying to know: why do you garden?
I’ve been thinking about this question a lot myself, and I think the reason why I garden is ridiculously simple. It makes me believe in the impossible. Take seeds. I love that inside every single one there is a little plant just waiting for the right time to break out of its shell and grow.
But no matter how many times I plant seeds, I always find it unlikely, ridiculous even, to think that they might grow simply because I have buried them and sprinkled them with water. So when I see a bean seed pushing aside a lump of soil or the tiny round first leaves of arugula appear it’s almost like a faith experience. Maybe that’s silly. But it keeps me coming back for more.
Now it’s your turn. Tell me why you garden! The contest will close on June 23rd and I will announce my three favorite comments on June 25th. The three winners will each receive a pair of Ethel gloves. Check out their website. Once you see all the stylish gloves they have, you’ll definitely want to enter. Now guys, I know these gloves are really cute, one might even say girly. Don’t let that stop you from entering! Think how much fun it would be to give a pair to your mom, or your sweetie, or a friend.
I garden to add a little beauty to my world. The view out my apartment window isn’t great, the back of some houses and a gravel roof. When I have my potted plants all around the window things are a little greener and with luck I’ll coax some little flowers to come out and say hi. I’m totally in it for the beauty.
June 9th, 2009 at 8:31 amI garden because I want to teach my daughter where her food comes from, and I also want to have a better handle on what she’s putting into her body. Not to mention she’s more likely to eat fruits and vegetables she’s grown herself!
June 9th, 2009 at 8:31 amI know it’s been said before, but truly, I find gardening grounding. It calms me. It fulfills my need to nurture. It feeds me. It gives me the satisfaction of creating spaces I can enjoy from inside my home and outside. And, to help fulfill my inner teacher, I enjoy teaching others to garden — sharing my knowledge and learning more along the way.
June 9th, 2009 at 8:34 amI garden for so many reasons. Seeing the seeds & plants grow reminds me of the perpetual growing process that I am in too. I love the see the clumps of dirt pushed the side of a baby leaf — that tiny, green strength teaches me. We are all reaching for more light. I feel most strongly that I am a part of the universe when I interact with growing things this way. Not to mention, the peacefulness, the coolness — or warmth — of the dirt, food safety, accomplishment, joy, wonder, and come harvest time — deliciousness!
June 9th, 2009 at 8:49 amI tried to come up with a single answer but I think the reason I garden is more complex than that. I garden because it reminds me of my youth and working in the garden with my mother and grandmother. I garden because I like to know where my food comes from and how it was created. I garden because it enlivens the spaces around it, beautiful plants, beautiful places. I garden because it’s a challenge. Finally, and most importantly, I garden because I love to watch everything grow. Most of what I do everyday doesn’t yield results for years. Gardening creates a unique and varied result everyday! When I get home the first thing I do is go look at my garden (right after kiss my wife and pet the dogs)I love to see it’s daily progression.
June 9th, 2009 at 8:51 amBefore I had my son, gardening was a meditative, spiritual and grounding exercise for me. There is something truly magical about growing your own food from seed and then saving some of those seeds from year to year.
Now that I have a child (who turned one this past Saturday!) gardening is more important then ever as meditative task, it is mommy time! I also have found a new aspect to gardener I never had the chance to experience before. Every morning Damian and I go out to check on the plants and pull that handful of miscellaneous weeds. I love watching the wonder on his face when he sees the garden (especially the flowers.) I hope he grows up to have as deep an appreciation for where his food comes from as I do because of it.
June 9th, 2009 at 9:15 amMy reason for gardening has changed, and I’ve only been doing it a year. When my new bride and I bought our first house (incidentally, on the Eastside of Seattle, hello neighbor!) I started a garden to liven up the backyard, and to have local and organic produce.
Since then, it has not so slowly transitioned into a way of connecting with my father, who is about 2,000 miles away. He has a bachelors degree in Zoology and a minor in Horticulture, and was a farmer for 30 years. His vegetable gardens were/are outrageous. He needed a chainsaw to cut down his okra plants (and a 8′ step ladder to harvest).
Now, not only am I connecting with my dad, but also with my wife. She wasn’t interested in gardening but after seeing, and tasting, what the garden can produce, she’s becoming more and more interested. A stunning pair of gardening gloves could be just the thing to win her over for good!
June 9th, 2009 at 9:24 amI garden to learn and to provide food for my family. I try to plant things that I know my family will eat alongside things that might be new or stretch our culinary experience. I grow food for neighboring birds and critters on occasion too. I garden to learn what works and what doesn’t – how to problem solve – and to be able to show my 5month old son that his food doesn’t come from a store, it actually grows. The garden gives me something to measure each day and each season. I garden to beautify my home and to demonstrate to myself and others that I can make an attractive space with minimal water use (Southern California gardener).
June 9th, 2009 at 9:26 amOMG those gloves are so lovely !!! I need some
you make me thinking … I think I am gardening because it is a family heirloom … I grew up with gardeners … everyone is gardening in my family and I spent so many great moments with my grand parents, aunts etc … during my childhood.
besides there is nothing more relaxing for me than gardening. I forget everyhting else and just enjoy the moment. plus it is so rewarding …each morning , even if it’s raining I need to go “faire le tour du jardin” , that’s to say a little garden promenade …same thing at the end of the day …
June 9th, 2009 at 10:10 amI garden for several reasons. I love working outside, I enjoy growing my own food, and I believe that growing my own (and thus reducing the amount I need to purchase) is good for my pocket book and for the environment. I also think that it tastes better.
June 9th, 2009 at 10:18 amI’m a new gardener. I started as a leap of faith but it has taught me that in an uncertain world things can be ok and turn out well. I’ve learned that a small step can inspire me, family and friends to focus on the goodness and community.
June 9th, 2009 at 10:25 amI love working in my garden! I do it for a variety of reasons– tops on the list are a) because it makes me feel hopeful (i love waiting to see if seeds will sprout, if vegetables will fruit) b) because it saves me money (or, I tell myself it does– nothing like a dinner where most of the ingredients are courtesy of the front yard) and c) because it’s good for me (need to take out aggression? pull weeds! need a mood lift? plant (or harvest) some flowers! need a gift for a friend? put together a basket of just-dug potatoes and garlic, and include your favorite gratin recipe!).
Those gloves look neat– I’m off to check out their website. Thanks!
June 9th, 2009 at 10:30 amI garden to find new, yummy veggies (amazing how much better that heirloom tomato tastes out of your yard vs the anemic grocery store ones) It’s also a great way to force me out of the house, into the fresh air- with the great benefit of organic produce AND some exercise. I found I never had the drive to keep things watered and fed when it was just ornamentals- but with the edibles- the whole yard benefits.
June 9th, 2009 at 10:43 amI’ve only started gardening just this year, and for me I think a lot of it has to do with the satisfaction you gain from seeing the amount of effort you invest producing a tangible result–one that is good for you and for the earth. So much of what I do in my daily life may prove intellectually challenging and may keep me very busy, but rarely do those things produce a tangible outcome. For example, planting a new plant in a location that was previously just bare earth–you have given that plant a new opportunity to grow and thrive and also made an immediate asthetic impact. As other people have mentioned, I also have found that I have picked up the curious habit of going out first thing in the morning to look over my plants–to see what’s grown and changed; whether the squirrels or birds have been disturbing any of the pots; if any of them need water or a bit of judicious pruning. It’s also satisfying to be able to reap what you have sown–few things are nicer than being able to have an abundance of nearly any herb you might need mere steps from the kitchen, rather than buying them in little plastic coffins at the store.
June 9th, 2009 at 10:54 amAs a grown woman, there are very few places that I can play in the dirt and not have the people with the white coats come to take me away. I garden for lots of reasons – good food, beautiful plants, bird habitat, etc., but the main reason I garden is so I can play in the dirt.
June 9th, 2009 at 11:03 amI am a brand new gardener, so new in fact, that I just started this season. So far gardening has show me a lot about my own expectations and the limits of my ability to force, cajole or plead a seed to sprout. I may have started gardening as a hobby, but I will continue to garden because there is something greatly revealing through success and failure in the garden. When I bring stubbornness and unreasonable expectations, I find my self surrounded by weeds and mired in mud. When I bring humor and humility, I see a greater beauty in the natural cycle of everything around me. I am looking forward to each new season and a much deeper understanding of “You reap what you sow.”
June 9th, 2009 at 11:10 amI garden because I enjoy the satisfaction of eating things I have grown myself, because it’s a fun activity to do with my four-year-old and because I enjoy improving the way my yard looks.
June 9th, 2009 at 11:23 amWe live in an apartment and have a container garden, but the true joy for me is when I take my 3 kids to my 91 year old Grandma’s garden. She used to garden out of necessity, but now does it just for the love of it. This year we call it the mystery garden since every time I turn around the kids are planting something, but it is a mystery of what it was and where it was planted. I take them there so they can get their hands dirty, and grow memories of spending time with their Great Grandma. It is not really what is produced from the garden that is important, but what is cultivated in the relationships with the people that enjoy the garden. The produce from the garden is shared with friends, family and neighbors, and I truly believe that it is what keeps Grandma young and healthy.
June 9th, 2009 at 11:24 amI garden mostly because there is something so satisfying for me about the process of growing the food my family will eat. I know what all has gone into it, we have worked the garden as a family, and seen each item grow from seeds or tiny starts into the beautiful fruits and veggies we will feast on together. I love it when I get a start from a friend, then when those items hit out plates I can’t help but think of who gifted us with it, the time we have spent together and what those individuals mean to our family. I grew up in the city and never really contemplated the food my folks feed me, then after college I had the opportunity to live in a rural Washington community for a year. There I learned so much about the abundance a home garden can offer and began with pots of a few herbs, I learn more each year about growing my own fruits and veggies and love that know even though I am back in the city I can share this with my children. This year they each have started their own garden’s, a fairy garden for my 6 year old and an herb garden for my 11 year old. I feel that it is also one small way we can give back to the earth for all that we receive from it and hope this is something my girls will carry with them in their lives as they grow.
June 9th, 2009 at 11:26 amI garden because I am so terrible at it…at least I was…now I am up to the “not-so-bad” level. I love learning something new every time I do something right or wrong in my garden. I am full of joy when I pick little strawberries & see flowers blooming against all odds in my yard (which is even better now that I own a little Seattle home & I am not just renting which means my plants can live in the ground & not just in pots & planters).
June 9th, 2009 at 11:45 amI adore your response, and I think mine is now quite similar. It’s pure magic (even if there is loads of science behind it!). I never would have imagined getting so giddy over little sprouts coming up or becoming addicted to watching their daily (and all too often their hourly) progress. It is such an adventure – and in my own backyard!
But to answer your question, being so new to this (first season with a full garden) I garden quite simply to put OUR food on OUR table. I want my children to feel the connection to what they eat. The fact that my 5 year old can identify the radishes in the garden, just by seeing their red tops peeking out of the soil proves to me it’s working. And who knows, MAYBE he’ll even TRY one!
Love your blog! I’ve already added cucumber and squash trellises thanks to you!
June 9th, 2009 at 11:49 ami grow a vegetable garden for the practice, because when the apocalypse comes and it’s every person for themselves, i don’t want to be hungry.
June 9th, 2009 at 11:56 amHonestly, because I just love it, and I don’t know why.
June 9th, 2009 at 11:57 amThese gloves have a *great* name!
I found your blog after hearing you speak on NPR this morning.
I am an engineer, and I garden primarily out of a love for good design and efficiency. A food garden looks lovely like any garden, filled with diverse colors and shapes, but then gives even more return through the fresh foods and vegetables. Our household waste is reduced, as leftover produce and yard waste becomes compost for my garden. The time my husband or I spent mowing and raking and watering a lawn now is spent on beautiful food plants instead, which yield a greater return. Finding the right juxtaposition of companion plants to maximize mutual benefits to the plants while using space efficiently is a delightful exercise in good design, half science but always at least half art due to the unpredictable nature of life and growth. Testing soil, watching the sunlight, planning, guessing what will grow, trying it, usually succeeding, sometimes failing – it’s addictive! Gardening to grow food is a delightful medley of form and function that I am sure I will never fully master – an engineering challenge that is as much intuition as forethought. It is all this, and many good meals as well!
June 9th, 2009 at 11:58 amI garden because my mom did. And because my grandma and my grandpa did before her. And my great-grandparents did before them. My grandpa’s parents were farmers during the Great Depression. When my grandma’s family ran out of food, my grandpa’s family shared their bounty. And so the story goes. I feel connected with all of them every time I plant a seed and hope my children will also feel this connection one day.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:02 pmJust because it feels good!
June 9th, 2009 at 12:03 pmI garden because it connects me back to myself. When I’m gardening I listen to my thoughts, dreams, my creativity. It engages my senses in extraordinary ways.
I garden because it connects me to my heritage, to my parents who live several states away, and to my sister who lives continents away. It connects me to my grandparents who are now gone from this world but their love of the earth and growing beautiful flowers as well as food to eat was ingrained into their lives and passed on to me.
I garden because it connects me to my partner in ways that nothing else does: decision making, enjoyment, creation, sharing, teamwork, physicality, friendship.
I garden because it helps me become whole.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:31 pmI garden for so many different reasons… but most simply because I love the act of creation. Making things, whether it be knitting or painting or cooking, and then sharing these things with others just makes my day. This past season in particular, it has given my husband and me a new and different way to connect and spend time together!
June 9th, 2009 at 12:32 pmWow you guys! I am overwhelmed at your lovely, thoughtful answers and am so flattered that you have shared them with me. How am I ever going to choose my favorites? Each and every answer is so special! Thank you, thank you!
June 9th, 2009 at 12:37 pmIt makes me feel alive!
My future husband and I have gotten to know the neighbors better as they have passed along advice and we have had our own chance by sharing our garden and knowledge with friends and family.
Plus, you can’t beat a meal of salad greens and radishes…and I know we have many more to come!
(PS – The gloves I have are too big and always fall off my hands.)
June 9th, 2009 at 1:10 pmI garden so that I can taste good tomatoes!
June 9th, 2009 at 1:15 pmI garden becuase it’s important to feel connected to the people that came before me. My family has been farmers and gardeners for generations. My grandmother who is in her late 80′s still plants a 1/4 acer garden ever year. I also garden to try to make my world a little more sustatinable not to mention beautiful!
June 9th, 2009 at 1:57 pmI used to always wonder why other people gardened. It seemed like a lot of work for nothing.
Now I know that is so wrong! I garden to help feed us, to have a smaller impact on our earth, and to feel accomplished.
I can’t believe how uplifting gardening truly is! I’m only a few months into my first year, and I’m hooked.
June 9th, 2009 at 3:09 pmI garden because I can’t help it.
I was 8 months pregnant at the end of a torridly hot summer in Colorado, trying to harvest 400 sq ft of tomatoes when I thought, never again!
Now my oldest is 5 1/2 and can run out to the garden to pick me some mint, radish, fennel, sorrel, or lettuce for the salad. He just goes out to munch. We have about 100 sq ft of corn this year just because he loves it. I swore that I wouldn’t grow vegetables this year because it was too much work with a new baby, but … I can’t help it! We have 500 sq ft of intensively planted vegetables, and another patio just crammed with perennials in pots.
p.s. Aaron and Ethyl just HAVE to win some gloves.
June 9th, 2009 at 3:10 pmI garden because it is, at all levels, a family experience for me. As a kid, my mother built a garden in our yard, and I loved watering it and looking for the new growth. I love knowing that chives and mint will grow no matter what, because I saw them every day next to the sidewalk that led to our front door. These things connect me with my family home and being a kid again.
As a father of two now, saying, “Let’s go work in the yard!” is the only surefire way to get the whole family excited to get out of the house together. The thrill of using tools, the quiet wonder of watching leaves sprout, the joy of spotting wild Northwest game–”Daddy! Slug!”–I get to do all these things through the eyes and vitality of my kids.
Thanks for asking!
June 9th, 2009 at 3:19 pmGardening is something my husband and I can do together. It’s good for our marriage and great training ground for the parents we hope to be one day together. We work on helping something grow together. Together we tend to the plants and their needs, and we each bring our own set of eyes and experiences that help us notice different things about the garden and what is needed or what we appreciate. To me, it’s such good training ground for how to raise children together in the future. We’re practicing on our plants now, but when our human seedlings sprout one day, I think the lessons we learned in our garden will surely come in handy.
June 9th, 2009 at 3:35 pmI garden because I spend all day inside working at a desk, and when I come home I can go outside and get my hands dirty.
I garden because I love to experiment, to try out new things, and to learn from my failures and successes.
I garden because of the feeling I got last night – the ridiculous amount of excitement I felt when I saw my first snow peas emerging on the vine.
June 9th, 2009 at 3:41 pmdirty knees and muddy shoes, lingering scents on fingertips, petals washed in delicate hues, morning dewdrops, little fluffy songsters, fat-cheeked squirrels, sweet climbing jasmine, tall spikey lavender, full-skirted roses, birdie baths and birdie houses, butterfly wings and buzzer bees, neighbors’ howdy-dos, the rain and the sunshine and all the hidden secret suprises. That’s why.
June 9th, 2009 at 3:43 pmA raspberry on every finger :: Minty goodness :: Mud pies :: Scooping pumpkin goo :: Tiny, baby potatoes with melted butter :: Pesto :: Bugs & slugs :: Running through the sprinkler :: Watermelon seeds growing in my belly :: Green bean flowers :: Strawberry rhubarb pie :: Siamese carrots :: Peas in a pod :: Digging :: Squirting tomatoes :: Zucchini bigger than a cat :: Sunshine
I garden to connect to my inner child.
June 9th, 2009 at 4:31 pmI just recently started “gardening”, if you can call it that. My grandmother was a huge gardener up until the day she died, and my mom is big into roses. My wife is good in the garden, and I want to share a hobby with her (although I always forget plant names).
I just started trying to grow peppers, as I expect it’s the manliest thing I can do while still being called a “gardener”
.
Brian in Bothell
June 9th, 2009 at 4:42 pmI garden to teach me patience and forgiveness.
By nature I get frustrated very easily and have a hard time letting go of mistakes. Gardening helps me practice waiting (and appreciating the small changes that happen everyday with the waiting) and forgiving myself for accidentally killing my peppers.
I garden to make me a better person.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:00 pmI grew up gardening. It was something that I watched my grandfather and parents do. It was so fun growing up watching the vegetables evolve from tiny little things to full-grown edibles, finding some interesting bugs and spiders among the plants, and enjoying eating fresh picked food. Now that I have my own backyard, my husband and I are carrying on the family tradition of growing our own fruits and vegetables with the twist of some not to common plants and my plan to learn how to can. I love the tradition and heritage of gardening.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:07 pmBecause I love food!!!
June 9th, 2009 at 5:26 pmBesides the fact that I just love to be out in the sun gardening, I grow food for my kids. My eight year old daughter is hesitant (isn’t that surprising?) when it comes to trying new foods. But, if it is food out of the garden she is eager to give it a try! This year, she had her own little patch of potatoes, swiss chard, and carrots. She claims that ‘her food’ tastes better than anything from the store.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:34 pmI garden because, after coming home from a long, hot, sweaty day in the dry, dry, dry, HARSH desert, there is something so restorative about stepping into my lush, green garden to pick some rainbow swiss chard, to go check how the baby peaches and tomatoes are doing, and to visit with the neighborhood kitty who comes to visit me without fail whenever I’m in the garden. My garden is my green space, my sanctuary, the place in my world that reminds me I am safe and protected, that I have something to nurture. It is the gentle place where I take my tea first thing in the morning and my wine in the evening (or, let’s be honest, late afternoon!). I guess, in short, I garden because it reminds me that even though sometimes life seems hard or unkind, there is always something sweet too.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:38 pmWow……great glove design
Why I garden:
June 9th, 2009 at 6:01 pmI used to make floating dirt-bark quagmires as a kid and try and trick my brothers into stepping into the muck I made but they caught on pretty quick (maybe my clothes?).
Then I started planting little seedlings around our house or moving baby plants and although no one ever directed me I was always atracted to lush dirt and supple soil. Now it is still about the amazing discoveries of how soil nurishes plants. I sometimes wonder if there really are enorphines in good dirt as my fingers just can not resist the amazing feel of it. Growing lovely flowers and scrumptous vegatables is a great by product.
Great question! I garden because I *have* to. If I’m not growing something, there’s just something missing from life! I garden to have a place to meditate. I garden to watch things grow and change from one day to the next. I garden to set an example for my children. And I garden because I learn something new every single day!
June 9th, 2009 at 6:22 pmThese are beautiful gloves!
I garden because I find it relaxing. And now that I have a young daughter, it’s something we can do together. I let her plant the seeds, water, and pick out weeds from the garden. It’s something we both look forward to during the day. And then getting to eat what we’ve taken the time to grow is pretty special and quite a learning experience for her. It’s what my parents taught me growing up and I’m happy to pass it on to my daughter.
June 9th, 2009 at 6:22 pmMy first memory of a garden was as a child watching my Dad break up the field with his large white horse and a plow. I was a very picky eater but they had very little problems getting me to eat fresh corn on the cob, potatoes, onions,watermelon, canteloupes, etc that Dad grew. He always planted about 2 acres of peas and corn for the extended family to come harvest. Having raised the older children of the family during the Great Depression, they knew and passed on the value of lots of fresh veggies and fruits from their efforts to me.
June 9th, 2009 at 6:26 pmMy grandchildren always want to see what we are growing each summer and love to rush out and harvest the zucchini that always hide under to leafs. Because I am disabled now our garden is small but nothing can replace the feel of God’s dirt on my knees and hands and the thrill of surprising family with fresh pesticide free veggies.
Love your blog and always look forward to it. I lived in Bremerton for a year so I know your challenges with gardening in what I always call “God’s country”, Washington state.
I garden because I finally found home here. This place is a part of me. And the garden an extension of that. Every moment is spent thinking about the garden and what is growing in the garden. I garden because my children love to forage in our yard. I garden so I can make thai basil and purple locust ice cream.
Every nook and cranny in our yard has become this intense tangle of life that we adore–earthworms, ladybugs, rhubarb, peach trees, and chickens.
I garden for soul food.
June 9th, 2009 at 6:35 pmI garden because I really love watching things grow. Digging in the dirt, planting seeds, watering daily make me feel content. I love seeing the little green leaves pop up above the dirt. I enjoy knowing that I helped something change and become part of the world I live in.
June 9th, 2009 at 6:36 pmSince becoming unemployed I am relishing in having the time to devote to the garden. It gives me time….outside in the sunshine, even on a cloudy day, to enjoy nature and the mircacle that starts when you put a seed in the ground. Thanks Willi for the inspiration.
June 9th, 2009 at 7:01 pmI feel I grow as my garden grows.
I feel so calm as I touch the soil every time I garden.
I feel so alive every time I find new leave start growing in spring.
I feel so happy every time I find a flower starts blooming.
These are the reasons why I keep gardening…
June 9th, 2009 at 7:09 pmI initially started gardening because I didn’t want to be a hypocrite. Now I garden because I can. Who knew it would be one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done? Once upon a time I was tasked with teaching others at church about being self-sufficient (which included gardening). I decided I needed to speak from experience. So I gave it a try with a few pots on the porch and stuff actually grew! This is significant coming from a person who often doesn’t try new things for fear of failure. So every year it gets better and I learn more and the rewards keep coming – connections I’ve made because of the garden, knowledge I’ll have with me forever, self-sufficiency gained and most importantly delicious food to eat (Coconut Thai Curry starring my Joi-Choi for example.) Thanks for the great topic by the way – it’s inspiring.
June 9th, 2009 at 7:11 pmThere are two main reasons why I garden.
Gardening is a form of expression – almost like sculpting clay. You can start with a neglected piece of earth and form it using plants, trees, rocks, raised beds and fences to make it your own little sanctuary.
Gardening makes me feel good. I feel a great sense of accomplishment with each new bloom, vegetable and seedling. I find myself getting giddy about anything new discovered in the gardening (like our seven or so tomato volunteers!). It also makes me happy that I have something to share with my friends and neighbors.
The bigger question is – how can you NOT garden.
June 9th, 2009 at 7:13 pm“Being an artist” was something I had written off a long time ago, since I don’t have a talent for painting, playing music, glassblowing, or drawing. The question you posed today made me think about gardening, and now I feel great! I realize I accomplish every day what I had previously assumed I could never achieve. The shapes, colors, sounds, seasonal look of plants, etc are my canvas. I designed my fences, raised beds, the patio, and the “rooms” of the yard. When friends visit and enjoy my garden, I am going to take a moment to be silently thankful.
June 9th, 2009 at 7:36 pmMy immediate response to your question would be the tomato; it’s all about the tomato. I love the taste of fresh garden tomatoes. Right now, I love rubbing tomato leaves between my fingers. The scent makes me almost taste the tomato. But that is too simple an answer. I’m beginning to fall in love with the whole process of gardening. I love the serenity it bring to my life.
June 9th, 2009 at 7:46 pmI garden because the food that I produce is so much more tasty than anything I can find in the store and because it is such a pleasure watching my almost three year old walking around the yard taking a handful of basil then a couple strawberries, yum some spinach, now some peas and so on. Where your food comes from is such an important knowledge for a child to have!
June 9th, 2009 at 8:01 pmI garden to be a witness to life…
I am a cancer survivor and have two very close friends that will not be around too much longer. As I watch them die I have no control however when I garden life is constantly being renewed. I also feel that each spring when I see my garden come back to life I feel like I have been granted a gift…of time and another season.
June 9th, 2009 at 8:01 pmI believe the main reason I garden is because I come from a long line of women gardeners. My great grandmother gardened out of necessity. My grandmother had a big, beautiful garden in Seattle and grew all sorts of unusual fruits and vegetables….I remember making red currant jelly with her one summer. She had a rosemary hedge that she would clip and then smell like rosemary. Whenever I smell rosemary, she is with me. Her daughter, my mother, at 75, still gardens and has a big, beautiful garden with many varieties of plants. We visit each other’s gardens, exchange plants, share successes and failures and joys and frustrations. I do this with my best friends as well – who are all gardeners. We talk about our plants like we do our children. The other big reason I garden is because gardening is such a hopeful act. You plant a seed in anticipation of beauty and bounty. Gardeners are optimists. We always have faith that good things will come…..and they always do!
June 9th, 2009 at 8:11 pmJulie HAS got to win! That was so wonderful, Julie!
I garden so I’ll always remember laughing with my mother.
When I was in high school, my mom, dad and I moved to Fort Flagler State Park on Marrowstone Island in Jefferson County so my dad could take a job as a Park Ranger (didn’t know it then – GREAT way to grow into adulthood!)
My mom, coming from a farmer background, wanted a garden, but all we had was a yard of rocks. She MADE me haul wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow full of rocks out of that garden. One hot summer day, I said NO! I told her she couldn’t MAKE me do it anymore. In an instant and to the utter surprise of both of us, she said “Oh Yeah?” and jumped me. She knocked me and the wheelbarrow over and the next thing I knew she was on top of me, and I was screaming.
I was screaming because she had inadvertently shoved my hand in an ant pile!!! She was shocked and horrified that she’d do that to her child and I told her she did it on purpose and promised never to forgive her.
Now, when I grow my crops on our 1/4 acre field, swearing at every rock that I have to haul out of that field, I know my mom, I love my mom and I laugh with my mom, even if she is not here anymore. I say to her “This one’s for you” ~ Thanks for teaching me how to love. I could haul a hundred wheelbarrows full of rocks out of that garden.
June 9th, 2009 at 8:24 pmI garden mostly bcs I feel I have to to “walk the talk”. I believe I should grow food bcs I can. It is hard for me as I am a beginner and can get really mad if my effort doesn’t pan out. But of course I LOVE harvesting, eating, and giving away my veggies and having people be amazed how good home grown veggies. I’m hoping as I get better at it I’ll enjoy the gardening part.
So did I win some gloves?
June 9th, 2009 at 8:47 pmI have planted a vegetable garden this year for two reasons:
June 9th, 2009 at 9:41 pm1. To teach my young daughter appreciation for where our food comes from and encourage healthy eating… and
2. To finally eat some radishes that sneak up on you and sucker punch you in the end. Yummy!
Simply put: I garden because it makes me happy.
I love watching and experiencing our seasons so much more because I garden. The Summer of course being most glorious. I most love coming home from a weekend away in the Summer and returning to see how much everything has grown, even in a small amount. In the fall I love harvesting and reaping my bounty from a summers work. Winter brings a calm and mysterious beauty of its own. Then I’m always near giddiness come Spring when I realize just how much I’ve missed being outside with my plants and can hardly contain my excitement with each new plant springing from the ground. Gardening keeps me more connected to the natural world, with each season bringing me different, yet always endless, joys!
June 9th, 2009 at 10:32 pmWhy do I garden? That is such a good question and I honestly have never thought about it. I think I do it because I love the environment it creates and the surprises that come with it. I have two vegetable gardens and many flower beds on my tiny city lot, but it becomes so much more than that. Every spring a pair of chickadees move into my birdhouse- the chicks just flew off yesterday! I get labybugs and butterflies passing through. There’s also this amazing resident hummingbird that swoops over the house and feeds on all the flowers. Besides the wildlife, I grow quite a bit more than I need so I visit my neighbors with an armload of goodies. I grew up with this type of community so when I moved to the city and my own place, I just continued my nature loving ways!
June 9th, 2009 at 11:40 pmI garden because I love to see things grow and change. I’m always thrilled to see things sprouting out of the dirt, and even more thrilled when those things end up on my plate. The garden is a wonderful teaching tool for my son. I hope that he will grow to love the garden and veggies as much as I do.
June 10th, 2009 at 7:33 amI garden because I’m a graduate student in science, and oftentimes I find the logical science explanation for the world feels like it robs me of the magic of life. When I plant seeds and watch them grow, I let go of the science and marvel at the power. It’s pure magic. It’s like something for nothing, and I’m the lucky witness.
June 10th, 2009 at 7:39 amI garden for lots of reasons. While I love being a part of eating fresh and local, there is nothing (OK…except being a mama) that makes me feel so humbled and proud at the same time. Every year, it’s a new lesson. Sometimes, it’s aphid infestations or bolting broccoli, but last year took the cake…I struggled with summer squash of all things…first the slugs ate all of the seedlings then after finally getting the squash going again a neighborhood squirrel kept gnawing the fruit! What else could I do but laugh at the wonders of Mother Nature?!
June 10th, 2009 at 8:26 amI garden for a number of reasons, the main one being food quality. I have laying hens and I love the fact that what we don’t eat, the dogs eat; what the dogs don’t eat, the hens eat; what the hens eat becomes eggs and what they don’t eat goes into the compose pile which then goes into the garden!
Also, gardening is my fitness regime. I’d go nuts if I had to go to a gym to work out. But give me my veggie and perennial beds to care for, and I can happily work all day long.
Lastly, where I don’t have a knack for decorating the inside of my house like some folks do, I do very well outside with a funky eclectic kind of look using old metal bed headboards, chandalier crystals, mirrors, etc.
So gardening, I guess you could say is good for body and soul!
June 10th, 2009 at 9:40 amI was training for roller derby and having issues with migraines, fatigue, and respiratory problems. I went to Bastyr, did the elimination diet and completely changed the way I ate. I eliminated packaged and processed foods from my diet, foods with a lot of preservatives and began eating organic and local produce. My athletic ability increased and I felt so much better. Plus I learned how to cook and everything tasted so good! That was when I started to become aware of the problems with the food system in this country. I bought books like Omnivores Dilemma, Grub and Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades. In reading them I was inspired to grow my own food. I had recently bought a house, so it was perfect timing. This is my second year growing my own food and I love it. My lawn is disappearing as I add new veggie beds every year! It has been such a great learning experience. I am still reading, learning, gardening and getting involved as much as I can. And to think, just a few years ago I was a frozen pizza and taco bell eating derby girl who had no idea about nutrition or where my food came from!
June 10th, 2009 at 9:57 amI’m convinced gardening has immensely therapeutic powers. I force myself out the door with a to-do list of two or three things, and thirty minutes later I’m transformed into a puttering Snow White with a bird on my shoulder, whistling while I (most happily) work.
What a wonderful tribute to gardening you’ve created here!
June 10th, 2009 at 10:13 amSo many reasons, but in the end it’s seems so simple.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:14 amI garden to slow down and learn- about life!
Too many computers/ appointments/ deadlines. Always pushing the boundries just that little bit more… Can I squeeze an extra 15 mins out of my day? Why Yes! If I just give up a little more of who I am… Not so bad, right?
Then I had my daughter- and suddenly it wasn’t about stuffing life into an ever shrinking envelope. It became “how can I show her that the Quiet Time, the Healing Time is vital- not just “nice to have sometimes”?
And the answer was ‘By Example’. Which meant that I had to simplify, slow down, and watch my garden grow, so I could teach her that life isn’t about what you can consume and throw away, like a Microwave dinner.
It’s about what you can give back and nurture. It’s about accepting that things move at their own pace, and pushing won’t make it any better. It’s about understanding the Life Cycle. Things are born- and they die, and that’s the way it should be. It’s about loving every mistake you make for the wonderful lesson you get out of it- and knowing it’s OK to stuff up! It’s about grazing your knuckles and working up a fabulous set of blisters- and not blaming the tool company for bad design. And it’s about getting out what you put in. Love and nurture your garden- and yourself, and it will feed and support you for the rest of your life. What a gift our gardens are.
So simple.
“That’s more my speed.” I garden because the speed of plant growth is human speed. The speed of the reaction that turns diamond to graphite: thats earth speed. The speed of my Amaryllis is about 3.5 cm/day. I know. I can measure it sitting pretty on my table with a centimeter ruler every hour and it-has-grown! At my speed. Its human speed. It’s us.
June 10th, 2009 at 12:04 pmIf I count the number of times surfaces I touch in a day that are man-made versus natural, it is no contest. Gardening for me is a way to keep in touch with things that really matter. Nature in all it’s power is mind-crunchingly beautiful and connecting to it with the seasons and digging in is just one small way to appreciate it. Of course, the fact that you free yourself from the needs of commercial farms also means you have the luxury to grow things for taste and not yield. I like that too.
June 10th, 2009 at 12:16 pmI garden because it feeds my body, my mind, and my soul. Gardening teaches me acceptance, as in when a crop fails despite all the love and energy I put into it. Gardening teaches me determination – as I learn from my mistakes and try again. Gardening teaches me to be watchful and mindful of our natural surroundings and conditions, and fills me with great respect and love for the beauty of the natural world.
Growing food makes me feel thankful for the earth and its capacity to provide us with all the different delicious and beautiful fruits and vegetables. There is always more to learn and exciting new projects to undertake; in short, I garden because it fills my life with many profound and important things. I feel I am a better person because of it, and my life would be much less fulfilling without it.
June 10th, 2009 at 2:11 pmFor me gardening is peaceful, theraputic, relaxing, gratifying and always a wonder. We keep an organic garden, can or freeze things if it works but for the most part it is the seasional enjoyment that I love about gardening. In the winter I love getting all the new seed catalogs. I think, plan, and anticipate Spring. When Spring arrives I can begin my indoor planting of Heirloom tomatoes, & flowers. I always have way too many tomatoes so I have an annual email I send to my pals, to let them know what I have grown and what they can come by and pick up. Its rewarding to see others get excited about my little tomato babies and have successful tomato plants in their garden too. As the garden gets planted and all the little veggies start to come up there is no better place in the early morning with a cup of coffee. In the evening with the sun going down my husband joins me for a glass of wine and we chat about our day as we watch things grow. When fall comes and we enjoy the harvest there is nothing better. What a super way to enjoy the seasons!!
June 10th, 2009 at 2:28 pmI garden for the surprises…all the little insignificant and significant changes that happen right before your eyes. I grew up on a farm in California and we took the art of “growing food” for granted as food production was easily spurred on by well-calculated chemical fertilization and protected from failure by heavy pesticides. I’ve had the pleasure of unlearning some of these techniques and re-learning the natural art of gardening in a more simple, pure form. Gardening teaches me patience, acceptance and humility…some of life’s most important lessons!
June 10th, 2009 at 3:05 pmIt is in essence the sense of discovery that I love so much about gardening. That first tiny sprout just barely popping above the surface (and in my case usually unlabeled) struggling for sunlight- surviving against impossible odds. The crazy notion that something can ‘grow’ and develop such distinct characteristics when they look all the same just after they pop out of the ground. The pure unadulterated joy I experience when I discover one of those tiny little seeds has made it and broken through the tough top soil- only then to be beleaguered by a host of other dangers on its own road of life. It is a joy in experiencing and discovering daily change and growth, and amazement and how the impossible becomes possible.
June 10th, 2009 at 3:21 pmUp until 3 years ago my attitude was, “I don’t do dirt.” While my husband was away on a trip, I decided to take out the grass (mostly weeds) and put in some fun plants. All of my neighbors were coming over to see what I was doing…they wll knew I didn’t “do dirt”. Since then, I have taken out more grass and have now even started growing basil from seed. I now appreciate the art of gardening. My husband really appreciates the help.
June 10th, 2009 at 6:27 pmO.K. I know this is “comment” loooong, but your question so got me thinking. And I’ve decided that I garden because I’m shy. And because I don’t speak Vietnamese. And not nearly enough Spanish.
Our Delridge neighborhood is really diverse, which is part of why we moved here. It’s also a little rough around the edges, which took some getting used to, but also, I realize, kind of suits us. There’s an abundance of family and a blessed lack of pretense around here. I may not speak the same native language as some of my neighbors, and the toughs may scare me a little, but nothing fosters a sense of connection like a garden.
Meeting the new neighbor is easier for an introvert like me when I’ve got a boxful of strawberry starts as a “garden warming” gift. I ask advice from the generous landscaper across the street, and say “thanks” for his divided perennials by way of a jar of green tomato jam with lavender. A few summers ago we sat on the front porch enjoying a bumper crop of lemon cucumbers with the kids from a couple houses down. Their mom worked two jobs and relied on food stamps—-they’d never heard of cucumbers, let alone tasted one. And no one told me tomatillos were so crazy prolific! Thank goodness Lonjina loves to make salsa. A bottle of nasturtium vinegar and a bouquet of flowers for the woman across the street whose husband cried on our doorstep as he told us she has cancer. We trade tips on growing tomatoes, run to the fence to laugh when the little boy next door shows us a gnarled carrot that looks like an old man, or share a quiet wave in the morning as I’m out watering and the early birds briskly walk the block.
I garden because it grows a lot more than just vegetables—it grows community and it opens doors I might not have stepped through without a handful of homegrown love in hand.
June 10th, 2009 at 9:41 pmI garden because it’s blissfully slow. My daily routine often makes me feel like I’m moving at warp speed and I barely have time to really observe what’s happening around me. But in my garden, everything seems to slow down and I start to tune into mother nature’s schedule. It inspires me to really take in and see the world around me. Seeds germinate on their own time and what an exciting experience it is to watch your soil so closely while you wait, that you can see even the slightest change as a new plant begins to emerge. Never before had I taken the time to get on my hands and knees to see a plant’s new leaves. I love gardening because it’s blissfully slow in a world that moves incredibly fast.
June 10th, 2009 at 10:41 pmI love the way my garden is constantly evolving. Some things thrive, some don’t. Some things taste good, some don’t. I love discovering new things and growing food for the people I love. Gardening allows me to have an ever changing landscape and a peaceful escape, even in a little suburban yard.
June 10th, 2009 at 11:00 pmI garden because it makes me happy. I am happy when I spend a day turning soil and planting seeds, then feel my sore muscles; I know I have gotten some exercise. I am happy when I see little seedlings pushing through the earth and I know that, once again, my plants will grow. I am happy when my children run excitedly out to dump scraps int he compost pile. I am happy when I can wander with my kids looking at what is growing, how much bigger it is today and explaining what each plant will be. I am happy when I can send a child out to pick a salad to go with dinner or when we eat some yummy rice flavored with cilantro and green onions from our garden. I am happy when, in the middle of winter we can open a bottle of something from our summer garden. From achy muscles to beautiful bottles in the pantry it makes me happy. p.s. It just happens to be my 40th birthday on June 25 (the winner announcement date) wink, wink.
June 11th, 2009 at 6:52 amOh my! Why? I love the magic of it. In the soil goes a seed, out comes a plant, yet it is so much more than that.
Some flower, some get huge (think redwoods), some you eat the leaves or roots, others turn into juicy fruits or crisp veggies, or feeding stations for birds, bees and butterflies, some have an absolutely intoxicating smell. I love the magic of plants breaking the dormancy of the winter, by unfurling tiny, tender, buttery soft, little leaves in the spring. With all the turmoil in the world, a garden (and gardening) gives one hope. It’s food on the table, it’s beauty, it’s a new beginning, it’s a continuing cycle. It’s a success story every time a seed makes it to ‘adulthood.’
Even weeds are impressive in their single-minded purpose to grow and multiply! Every time I ‘try’ to remove one from the crack of our driveway, it always comes back. I can’t help but be impressed with the strength of that little plant. It’s all those things that draw me back over and over.
June 11th, 2009 at 7:14 amI have gardened and not gardened, mostly limited by my access to land. When I garden I feel as if I am creating- creating food, creating a beautiful space, and creating peace of mind. When I am gardening-I find myself with the ability to design a productive space with constant improvising- sound a bit like art huh? When I am gardening-the foods I produce are the best and are shared among all those that I know. When I am gardening I find I can spend hours picking, planting, weeding and the time is pure enjoyment. This is why I garden.
June 11th, 2009 at 8:44 amThere are a number of reasons why I garden –
the excitement of seeing the first little shoots pop up from the ground,
the beauty of a new garden’s small plants all neatly arranged,
the sheer fun of playing in the dirt
the satisfaction of eating something fresh from the garden
but one of the most compelling reasons is the connection I feel to my Dad when I garden. He grew so many delicious things, and I always feel close to him when I am in the garden. One of the fondest memories I have of him is going out to try to find something to eat, before the garden was really ready. He loved beet greens, and once when we were craving them too soon, he decided we should try the radish tops. They were a little fuzzy, but we ate them anyway!
Also, I love introducing my grandson to the excitement of a garden. We have built a Pea Tee Pee and are ready to climb inside and nibble from the vines twining up the sides. While we are there I will tell him the story of how his daddy and uncles used to gobble up all the new peas as they played in the yard, thinking they were pulling a fast one on their Mom, who pretended to be puzzled where all the peas had gone (the empty pods on the ground under the tree fort were a hint!)
June 11th, 2009 at 9:55 amSimply put, I garden because I like to eat. This year we planted salsify, strawberry spinach and ground cherries. I’ve never tasted any of them before, and I can’t wait to try them. We’re slowly turning our yard into one big grazing area. A place to excite the mind as well as the palate.
June 11th, 2009 at 3:48 pmI garden, therefore I am.
June 11th, 2009 at 7:32 pmYou don’t need committee approval to plant basil or a project plan to harvest the lettuce. It’s simple and solitary…anything goes and if you screw up, there’s always next year.
Plus, getting dirty and connecting with nature is always therapeutic!
June 11th, 2009 at 9:26 pmWhy I garden:
Exercise.
I get some physical exercise in the form of stretching, pulling, hauling and such; moreover, I get emotional and spiritual exercise as I observe, ruminate and meditate.
More Life.
Gardening is a reminder of what the experience of life is all about. It is a microcosm of the energetic and the physical worlds that we live in. I also get to watch others work, which is always fun for me. Some visitors, like the ruby-faced hummingbirds seem just as curious about what I am working on as they pause in mid-zip to stare me in the face. There are so many workaholics in the garden; I begin to feel better about the crazy amount of things I juggle in my life. I may be overly busy, but at least my tasks are varied. I could be carrying things 5x my weight back and forth all day, every day.
Acceptance.
My inner control freak is all at once fed and humbled. None of the subjects in my garden argue with me when I move them, pinch them, put things over them or tie them to stakes. At the same time, I come to appreciate what is, as they grow according to their own plan in addition to and sometimes regardless of my influence.
Appreciation & Tolerance.
I am so much more appreciative of the food I grow myself than the same produce bought at the store. I have eaten cauliflower that had been attacked by moths and riddled with holes just because I grew it. Nobody would have bought something that looked like that from the farm stand! Additionally, I appreciate that I even have the ability to grow things in my environment. I can beautify my surroundings, and even provide sustenance – how cool is that?!!
Magic.
Not like hocus-pocus, but real magic. Creation is the magic I always longed for as a child when I asked for books to learn magic. I always received those kits to make coins disappear, or to guess which card was drawn. I didn’t know exactly what it was that I wanted, I just knew I wanted it to be real. Gardening is something that satisfied this for me. Not only could I manifest something so quickly, but it was also not all of my doing. There is something about the sprinkling of water on a seed in some dirt that leaves me with all sorts of giddiness. Watching light energy become matter, and the magical surprise of self-seeding (of desired plants – the magic of weeds is more like watching a zombie movie) practically send me singing Kumbaya into the middle of the street!
Practicality.
June 11th, 2009 at 9:35 pmI can grow my own food. Gifts too!!
For real.
To see my 4-year-old daughter excitedly pluck a carrot from the garden she helped grow.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:33 amI wonder if every gardener is hoping to be asked this question.
The world moves so fast these days and it’s very easy to get caught up in what we want and not think about how we got there. To me, gardening is about being there in the beginning and fully savoring the journey up to the end. (And then starting all over again!) It’s about being connected to the earth and the cycles of life and death and living.
I’m a counselor and so many of the people I work with have lost touch with the greater sense of how we fit into the world. People seem to have lost the ability to be fully in their lives as opposed to ‘doing’ their lives. I can’t help but wonder if people would feel less empty if we all were gardeners. If we all were gardeners, maybe we’d be more patient and let life unfold in its own time. If we all were gardeners, maybe we’d be more accepting and understand that every small instance is part of a whole. And if we all were gardeners, maybe fewer people would be afraid of death.
To me a tomato isn’t just a tomato. It’s the culmination of hours of sun and rich earth and water and time and care. It is the seed, the seedling, the plant, the fruit and the decay back to the soil. It is all these things at once.
OK, so I’m getting a little overwrought.
I don’t need a pair of gloves.
June 12th, 2009 at 9:28 pmBut I think I needed this question.
Thank you for asking it.
I garden because I need to nurture something. I don’t have kids or a dog, but I get out of bed in the morning excited to fuss over my little herb and salsa garden on my patio. The fact it feeds me physically is just an extremely exciting bonus.
June 12th, 2009 at 9:50 pmI love the way gardening demands that I pay attention to everything–the minute changes in leaf and flower that signify something–I need to notice them, and decipher their meaning. I need to concentrate, to think about plants’ needs, and about their plans–the megalomaniacs and the demure both need for me to attend to them. There is evidence to be gathered, choices to be made. And I’d like to note that sometimes the choices are difficult, and I could wish that I didn’t need to make them–taking down the diseased maple that my son loved to climb in when he was little, or the naively planted leyland cypress that swallows a yard while your back is turned (I guess that hyper-attention lapsed for a moment, there). But even those choices stimulate the kind of reflection that I love.
June 13th, 2009 at 12:07 amI garden to remember that my life is not just my daily 2 hour commute, piles of clothes to iron or wondering how I can make dinner in under 30 minutes but it also not come from the freezer. Watching my lettuce seeds sprout, my Fred Meyer fuschias flower and my poppies, from a seed packet a friend bought me at Monticello, grow, gives me perspective and peace.
June 13th, 2009 at 8:40 amGardening, to me, is an excercise in what it means to be human. There’s the element of faith that you mentioned, yet there is also the expression of the desire to create, to be creator, even. The gardening process is one of learning, evolving, changing, sharing–closely tied to the process of living our own lives. It’s an act of generosity as well as personal fulfillment when you garden, whatever you grow. And, yes, there’s the sweat! I particularly enjoy cleaning up after a day of working in the garden–there’s something quite satisfying about watching all that mud rinse away and go down the drain. Why do I garden? I guess I just have to!
June 13th, 2009 at 12:08 pmI’ve thought about gardening for several years and finally got brave this year and jumped in with both feet. I have many reason that helped me finally take the plunge. First, I hear that gardening benefits your physical self, emotional self and spiritual self. Those all sound worthwhile to me. Second, I’m hoping that by involving my toddler in gardening now, she will think that’s the only way to eat/live and hopefully gardening that come naturally for her when she has her own home thereby enhancing her spiritual, physical and emotional self.
June 13th, 2009 at 3:12 pmGardening and working the soil takes me back to a quieter, simpler time. The connection I feel with my ancestors is nearly tangible. I feel like I’m paying proper respect and homage to those who came long before me, and that Our Father is proud of me for being a good steward of His land.
June 13th, 2009 at 4:30 pmi garden because i love watching my food grow.
June 13th, 2009 at 7:38 pmI have started to garden with my young sons. It reminds me of gardening with my mother (who had a quite green thumb) when I was young and it has made the experience even more enjoyable. Kind of like going back to Disneyland with your kids and reliving the pure joy of all of the fond memories.
I’m always amazed that what we planted actually comes up (I feel like I’m holding my breath), and I have to admit that I play off to my kids like I know what I’m doing…. when I only have a clue….. The rewards are all worth it in the end and my kids actually like to eat the vegetables they would normally refuse to eat…..
June 14th, 2009 at 10:03 amI garden because it is satisfying.
June 14th, 2009 at 11:48 ami garden because i love beauty and nature, and gardening let’s me see and feel and be close to both!
June 14th, 2009 at 1:41 pmI garden for the smell of it. Every time I pass something that I know smells good – lavender and rosemary are my go-tos in the Seattle area, with tomato leaves a seasonal favorite – I give them a good squeeze and suck in the smell from my fingertips for the next few blocks before I squeeze something else. When I garden I love to inhale the rich earth smells deep into my nose and let the healing, restorative power of nature course through me. Later that night as I dig dirt out from under my fingernails I get to enjoy it again.
June 14th, 2009 at 10:50 pmI garden because it’s in my blood. One grandfather was a farmer, the other a landscaper; my grandmothers tended gardens and flower beds; it’s a natural hobby for me. The smell of dirt is a sweet and wonderful smell to me. It signifies the growing season has begun. To place a seed in the ground, give it water and sunlight, and end up with tomatoes, peas, beans,etc. that can be shared with family and friends is a wonderful gift.
June 15th, 2009 at 6:51 amWhat a wonderful exercise! I really enjoyed reading why people love gardening so much. I garden for several reasons. The gratification you get when you harvest your first tomato or pepper, or batch of lettuce is so exciting and fulfilling for me! Plus the flavors are so much more intense and I believe that I’ve developed a much higher respect for food and where is comes from. Thanks for the exercise Willi!
June 15th, 2009 at 7:07 amI garden because it’s magical! I never gardened until this year, and it has been an amazing experience to learn that I too can grow food and beautiful plants. I can see myself continually learning about it for the rest of my life (I get only 50 more chances at it if I’m lucky enough to live that long!). Growing up in Japan, I only knew food in the form of supermarket product. Now I can see how faith came along in humanity because there is nothing like planing a seed, watering it and watch it grow! I feel like eating life when I eat from my garden. Can’t go back now!
ps. It was cool to find your blog and see your post, since I posted a similar thoughts last night.
June 15th, 2009 at 12:21 pmWhy do I have a veggie garden…..for many reasons actually. I was a single mom of 2 by age 19 and when I left the house I didn’t even know how to make scrambled eggs. So, needless to say, cooking was a challenge for me. Now that I am a “creative cook” I love to know that I can take my cooking and life to the next level by watching my food grown and really appreciate the time and effort each meal takes. From seed…to plant…to plate. So often we forget this with the ease of the grocery store. I didn’t want my kids to not understand this or to take it for granted as I had. Now..my 3 kids, 11, 8 and 6, all actively participate in the process and therefore have a better connection with life and an understanding of what the “circle of life” really means.
June 15th, 2009 at 1:15 pmGardening satisfies my many personas:
Father – It provides me valuable time with my son and creates a forum for which to teach him about our world.
Neighbor – It encourages opportunities to chat with my neighbors and share my learnings and bounty with them.
Food Scientist – It satisfies my desire to experiment without the confines of walls and fluorescent lights.
Stressed out Employee – It is my therapist of choice.
Conservationist – Through organic and native choices, I will make my dent!
Nature Lover – What better way to give back to the Earth than homemade compost.
Foodie – C’mon, there’s nothing better than home grown tomatoes!
June 16th, 2009 at 10:16 amI garden because it’s something you do, not something you buy.
You can’t purchase your way to a fabulous garden, and if you could, that would to me negate the benefit.
June 16th, 2009 at 12:38 pmI garden because the first time I was given the responsibility to care for a already very well maintained garden, I failed miserably. I had no real appreciation for plant life. I thought the rain and the sun would take care of it all…. hah!
It was also my parents’ garden and it was only for a few months, but I had no idea what I was doing.
When my parents came back early from their extended vacation, I had no time to “spruce them up” they way months of daily love can. I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t keep their plants alive! I thought to myself how hard could it possibly be to take care of plants? There’s thousands of them around you, they take care of themselves, and you can’t take care of the ones in your parents’ yard? I was baffled.
One day my neighbor had given me a whole jar of mixed seeds and she had no idea what they were. I love surprises and I thought this is my chance to see if I could grow anything and actually keep it alive. So, I put some dirt in a bucket with holes in the bottom, dumped half the jar in, and covered it with dirt hoping s o m e t h i n g might grow. Well, try to make a long story short, something did grow. I learned so much just by trial and error, listening to other people’s suggestions, and some research. Today I care for over 15 varieties of plants at my home and everyday I learn something new everyday. I garden for the challenge and because of my love for plant life. I really enjoy just looking at my plants. They are so intricate and some delicate its beautiful. It gives me a little peace each day to spend time with my plants.
June 16th, 2009 at 2:02 pmI think I have plants growing in my veins! I garden because for many reasons… I love being able to come home a the end of a day of designing for other people and have my own artistic outlet where I can do whatever I want and no one tells me to change it. I also love that gardening is a mix of art and science – oddly, my two favorite subjects in school. And finally, I love that element of surprise when you notice something amazing in your garden that you didn’t expect. (My twisty rubinia tree flowered this year – had no idea that would happen!) (cilantro and tomatoes sprouted in my garden this year after sitting out in the cold minnestoa winter!) It’s very rewarding to sit in my little eden after I’ve cooked a meal from the garden and enjoy the evening with a book and a glass of wine! It’s like a quick vacation every night.
June 16th, 2009 at 2:09 pmI garden because there is something so life affirming about nurturing a plant or something you have grown from seed. I get so much pleasure and a child-like sense of discovery when I see that seed start to sprout or that plant start to flower. I never, ever want to be without that feeling of wonderment and enchantment. I also garden because both my mother gardened and her mother before her and her mother before her.
June 16th, 2009 at 9:50 pmI love to see something green nosing its way through rough soil. Even though I did nothing more that stuff a tiny seed into a hole and water it a little (when I remembered), I feel a bit of the power of creation. Its heady stuff.
June 16th, 2009 at 10:50 pmI garden because I’m curious, I love to try new things, and I love having a project to work on! Being able to harvest food is also a plus!
June 17th, 2009 at 10:13 amHi Willi!
June 18th, 2009 at 4:07 pmI garden because something inside tells me to. I grew up in an urban area and never did anything remotely agricultural until I was in college. Now this year I have expanded my backyard garden to my own farm, selling to restaurants and at markets! I used to be a classroom teacher because I thought that was one of the most important jobs in the world, but now growing things and teaching people about that tops my list–what else is more essential for our sustainability and for health & happiness? Nothing gets me more excited than seeing the first few leaves of a crop sprout! Thanks for posting such a wonderful site–I just found it today and I love it!
This is such a wonderful idea; I’ve been enjoying reading all the responses! And those gloves *are* beautiful. So in thanks, here’s my take…
At first, I was going to enumerate the many joys my family and I harvest from my garden. Spontaneous bouquets, snips of herbs for cooking, super tasty veggies. Counting lady bugs with the kids. My toddlers with tomatoes seeds splashed all over their shirts or sorrel smeared across their little mouths.
But then I started thinking about what came before this, my first house and first real garden. A patio garden with pots at my apartment. A windowsill of orchids. And before that, books about herbs and garden daydreams. Trying to explain why I garden is as hard as trying to explain why I love mountains or why I love the purple blue color of violas. It’s just part of my being.
June 19th, 2009 at 12:07 pmWhy I garden:
Empowerment. To be able to grow my own food, and feed myself, friends, family. Comfort, in knowing I can provide a wholesome meal from my labour. Love, of good food, there’s nothing better than fresh picked!
June 19th, 2009 at 7:55 pmThere is nothing more exciting than the prospect of spending a few hours outside, pulling weeds, revealing the rows I planted months ago. I am constantly amazed at the tenacity of these delicate little plants, responding so eagerly to my somewhat absentminded attentions. Although, when I sit down and think about the amount of time I’ve put into my veg garden, I can’t help but wonder that most people in the world are so well fed and know so little about where their food comes from. This is why I garden, so that I can have the experience of knowing the amount of work and time it takes to sustain me. Thank goodness for farmers, and especially those making the effort to bring back the small family farm!
June 20th, 2009 at 1:18 pmI garden because it makes cooking much more enjoyable. There’s nothing better than harvesting fresh herbs and vegetables out of your garden and cooking them up for dinner that night!
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:45 amWhen I saw Ethel’s Gloves I just had to try and win a pair. They would be just perfect for what I do in my yard.I don’t consider myself a gardener. I just like working in my yard. Most of the time I am either cutting back overgrown plants , pulling weeds, cutting grass or planting seeds and bulbs.
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:05 pmI find my time soothing, educational, creative , invigorating and meditative. I am most fascinated with the plants themselves and how they grow. Observing the different shapes and patterns, colors and fragrances, textures and growing cycles of all the plants and weeds make me happy.
I garden because every day is a new day in my garden, and with that newness comes excitement and wonder! Especially this time of year, the plants in my yard are changing and growing so quickly, my daily stroll through the yard is never the same as the day before.
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:08 pm[...] because I got so much out of my own contest, but I am happy to announce my three winners: Julie (comment #38) whose list of reasons is hard to argue with; Marguerite (comment 59), whose answer made me look at [...]
June 25th, 2009 at 7:52 pmI have a small farm and also work part time as a school garden educator, so many days I garden because it is my “work.” Which is a terrible way to feel about something that is so fundamental and so potentially joyful. So I am thankful to have read these posts and feel re-inspired about how important this work is, and how blessed I am to have it.
When I think down to the root of why I choose to do what I do – for me gardening is more connected to becoming human than anything activity. As Wendell Berry questions us, What are people for? When I’m tired at the end of the day I often think of that, why do I have this able body and active mind if not to fully engage it? I have also never felt more loved – by family, friends and nieghbors – than when I’ve been engaged in gardening.
June 26th, 2009 at 6:29 pmI’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your site. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme? Excellent work!
January 24th, 2012 at 3:34 pm