I finally understand why my mother spent most of her free time in the summer months coming home with loads of vegetable plants and flowers. The 5 kids would help her pull weeds but I never really gave the idea of gardening a chance.. I was always ready to be done before I even started. I missed out on some pretty great opportunities in the garden. If only I could turn back time..
So here I am in my 40 somethings trying to figure out how to make the garden my career. Crazy right!? Not for me. Let me share with you a few things I have learned from this garden.
In a world full of chaos and even on my noisiest of days the garden brings me silence and peace. I find myself walking the rows and looking up what that plant needs to grow to its fullest potential. Not even realizing the garden is doing the exact same thing to me. I recently saw a question being asked about growing leafy greens in Iowa during the summer. Most people responded to not bother. Us on the other hand do bother with it and figure out ways to grow sweet crunchy greens even on the hottest of days. The garden made us do it..
The garden has been our metaphorical couch through those very uncomfortable therapy discussions. For some reason those deep discussions happen in the garden. The garden always has a way of keeping those heavy burdens and we always feel a little lighter walking away. The garden knows our deepest fears and the moments we hold so close to our hearts. It knows our secrets..
The garden has taught us a little about time management and priorities over the years. We continue to adapt and learn there a so many ways to tend to a garden. Watering and pulling weeds by far are our most time sucking responsibilities. The garden has taught us to think outside the box to build efficiency. The last two years we added greenhouses. We are more intentional with watering which reduces weed growth. Don’t get me wrong we are still working on figuring out a better system but this garden forces us to be creative and prioritize our time more each year. This year was easier than the last. It just means we are growing in all different aspects of life.
The garden has also taught me patience. This is a big one for me. I am the type of person who wants instant results and when I don’t see them I move on. I have yet to see instant results in the garden and find myself coming back to try again with any free time I can find. The garden brings me true happiness.
The garden also pushes me outside of my comfort zone in the kitchen. I have taken a new approach with what I eat and find myself trying new recipes from the garden. I started to incorporate last year’s harvest that I freeze dried into our meals. Now I am far from a top chef but the garden has given me the courage to try and to try again.
Moral of the story…Everybody deserves to find a space in the world that makes you forget about the chaos and silence the noise…Find your garden.
✌🏼Jamie
Moral Of The Story 