The joy of gardening

[Originally published in Woodbury Bulletin on 8/22/2007]

I like plants and enjoy planting and gardening. A few people told me that I have a green thumb.

I think it’s more a compliment than the truth. I really don’t have the knowledge and skills of a master gardener. Nevertheless, I find great joy in gardening.

I grew up in the city where there were a lot more people than green space and trees.

We didn’t have enough living space, let alone any space for plants and gardening. Nature wasn’t a part of my growing up. I didn’t have any experience with planting and gardening

I think my love for plants in recent years comes from my Father. Dad likes plants. He has a few flower plants in the small apartment where my parents live now in China. As my Dad gets older and has more time, he enjoys looking after his plants more.

When we bought our first house in Woodbury seven years ago, we created a vegetable garden in the back yard. I had two purposes in mind: to grow our own vegetables in the summer and to give my parents something fun to do.

For the next few summers, my parents took care of the garden. They spent a lot of their time in the garden. Every morning the first thing they did was to check the garden. It kept them busy with watering, weeding or harvesting.

Gardening was one of the few things they really enjoyed about living here in the United States. It was a rare opportunity for them to grow vegetables. They don’t have a garden at home.

I don’t think people in the cities in China can possibly have a vegetable garden. Most live in high rise apartment buildings. Keeping a few indoor plants is the best they can do.

My parents went back home last fall. This year I am the one who has to do all the gardening work. I really enjoy it. I find gardening is very good for my body, mind and soul.

Gardening is a low-impact form of exercise. When I get tired from sitting, gardening provides me an opportunity to get up, go outside and do something productive.

The best thing about gardening is I can eat organic and healthy home grown foods while not spending much money. It really saves my grocery bills.

We all know fresh food provide the best nutrition. The closer we eat to the source where food is actually grown, the healthier is the food for our body.

Often right before dinner, I go out to the garden and pick some vegetables. I wash and prepare them within half an hour. Then they are ready for the dinner table. I love to eat my own organic vegetables picked freshly out of the garden.

There is just something very sweet when I can harvest and consume the products I have grown myself, and enjoy the fruits of my own labor.

The vegetables from my own garden may not look or even taste better than those I buy from the grocery store or farmer’s market, but there is a special feeling or a sense of accomplishment when I eat vegetable from my own garden.

I feel good because growing my own vegetables is good for my health, my pocket and the environment.

Gardening provides a creative outlet and a personal link to nature. It helps me feel attached to the earth and reminds me that I am part of nature.

As a gardener, I am also a creator. I prepare the soil, plant the seeds, then I water and weed, watch and wait, nurturing that new life into maturity.

When I am in the garden, worries and concerns seem to fade away. I am living in the present, marveling at the beauty nature brings and the miracle of life.

It brings joy that comes from hard work. It brings peace and slows me down in my busy life. It helps to reduce stress and increase relaxation.

In the last three months, as I spend more time in the garden plowing, planting, weeding and harvesting, I have even learned a few lessons.

In my next column, I will talk about some lessons I learned from my gardening.