SOME THOUGHTS AS TO WHY WE GARDEN, ESPECIALLY THIS YEAR
Here we are in mid-August and we are all struggling to understand and accept what has happened to our daily lives these past six months. One thing that is very evident to me is that more people and families have turned to the garden as a family activity. If you are going to stay home then why not try to do gardening.
If you are an avid gardener then have you ever thought to yourself why you enjoy gardening and why others, maybe even some family member or some close friends have absolutely no interest in gardening? Also, how many friends and neighbors have you helped this year in trying to answer their gardening questions because they want to try gardening for the first time? What is it about gardening and being around plants that have made gardening the #1 hobby?
From time to time I ask myself why I love gardening the way I do and why I choose to work with plants and with fellow gardeners as my working career. For me, I credit God for putting me on this path. And, I am so grateful because being a professional horticulturist is not what I thought I wanted to do in life when I moved to Richmond over 40 years ago.
Some of the sound reasons for gardening are for EXERCISE, BEAUTY, MEMORIES, LEARNING, AND FOOD. All five of these reasons are so pertinent in our lives right now.
EXERCISE
The American Heart Association is a big advocate for gardening. People who garden tend to get more daily exercise and eat healthier.
BEAUTY
A well landscaped and maintained property increase the value of a home by 10% and more.
MEMORIES
As a baby boomer, I grew up being influenced by our parents and grandparents who learned to garden out of necessity in order to sustain a quality of life that provided fresh produce to feed a large family and community during hard times, such as The Great Depression. As a kid, it was your role to help. From this helping, you then learned about planting and caring for the plants.
LEARNING
Using gardening to teach the younger generation about plants and gardening. I am now having the honor and pleasure of teaching my grandson to love and appreciate plants.
FOOD
One of the biggest, if not THE biggest, gardening trend of the past few years has been with vegetable and fruit gardening. With more and more families spending more time at home gardening has become a big part of their lives.
Fall is just around the corner and with September comes the FALL IS FOR PLANTING season. Those of you who think that gardening and vegetable gardening is coming to an end, need to realize how important the fall season is to gardening.
PLANT A LITTLE HAPPINESS!!!