I’d say up until about a decade ago, I disliked gardening. Really disliked it. It just felt like a chore, and one that I really did not want to do! I liked my garden to look neat, maybe with some colour, but that’s just about where my interest ended. Then something changed, I can’t quite recall what happened, but fast forward ten years and here I am itching for spring to arrive so that I can start pottering about out there again. As a gardening convert, I thought today I would share with you 6 reasons to get into gardening, as I really would not be without it now.
Fresh air and sunshine
I am a fair weather gardener, so it is all about fresh air and sunshine for me. I don’t garden in the rain, I am not that keen!
You don’t have to spend hours and hours out there all of the time, but it’s a reason to pop out there regularly and get a little fresh air and vitamin D.
I tend to use gardening as a break from my screen or of an evening as it gets me out there. To get the odd job done, pruning or weeding or perhaps potting up something new, entices me to take a break and I always feel better for it, even if it’s just half an hour spent out there.
It’s great for keeping you fit
When you garden, you use muscles you didn’t know you had!
At a very basic level, you are moving about out there, but then the crouching down, weeding, digging, whatever you are up to, it all makes you work those muscles. You’ll be sweating and fit in no time at all!
It forces you to slow down
I am not by nature a patient person, but with gardening I just have to be. It forces me to slow down and I think that’s good for me.
Gardens take time. Plants take time, the seasons roll around and bring new growth and tasks with them and patience is key.
I like that this is something that I cannot rush or control. I enjoy taking the time to choose new shrubs and plants, to rearrange things out there and plan how the garden will look. Someday. Because it’s rarely an immediate task, and I like the slow and steady approach that needs to be taken.
I’ve made a lot of changes to our garden over the last few years and there will always be something else that I want to do. It’s a long term thing.
It can save you money
If you’re into growing your own food, gardening can save you money.
Start simple with things like tomatoes, peppers and potatoes and before you know it, you’ll have an entire vegetable patch or a greenhouse full to the brim.
Think of the bees!
Think of the bees, they need you! And of course, it’s about much more than the bees, all of the birds that you can be feeding with clever planting and other insects and wildlife.
Through your garden, you can be playing an important part in your local ecosystem.
The kids sometimes take an interest in what I am doing out there, perhaps helping me to plant some bulbs or pruning (they love cutting stuff down!), but I’d say they are most interested in the wildlife. We have a couple of bird boxes that are sometimes home to chicks, which fascinates them and they like to see the butterflies and ladybirds that visit over the summer.
The actual garden itself!
This one needs mentioning, doesn’t it?
To enjoy looking at and spending time in your own garden is such a good feeling, there is a real sense of satisfaction that comes with gardening.
Whether you have just neatened things up out there, perhaps things are blooming, or you’ve rearranged and re-planted things, it’s all good to see it coming to fruition.
A garden is a never-ending project. There will always be something you can do out there, big or small, and I think there is something reassuringly constant about that.
What about you? Are you a gardener?