I used to always be envious of other gardens here in my neighborhood in Alberta, Canada, especially because back in the USA it was our gardens which drew envy from others. We were lucky with our old home that the previous owner was an avid gardener, and I’d be a fraud if I told you that it was my handiwork. I’d had enough of being the black sheep of the neighborhood and so I went to see a lender abut borrowing a little bit of money to get the gardens fixed up.

Just before signing on the dotted line I had a chat with Travis Cadman, a gardener and a neighbor of ours. He told me that for a small fee he’ due happy to help me, and show me some things about gardening. I took his offer and something amazing happened, I fell in love with gardening, and here is why. 

Peace and Quiet 

In such a hectic world it is important for everyone that you can find some corner of the world which is your own, where you can count on some peace and quiet away from the madness. For me this was gardening, my own time spent out in the fresh air, where I could completely lose myself in what I was doing. Sometimes I would spend hours out there without even noticing the time, and this was because I was lost in my own little world, happy and tranquil. 

Relaxation 

If you had asked me 5 years ago what I thought about gardening I would have told you that it was too much like hard work and it looked boring, how wrong I would have been. In actual fact I find gardening to be completely relaxing and this is mainly because of what I have just mentioned about finding my own little corner of the world. If I am stressed or lack focus then all I need to do is get the gloves on and get out to do some weeding, and everything is far more relaxed thereafter. 

A Project 

I have always liked the idea of a little project and now I have one in the garden. I love to watch the work I have done come to fruition and I love that this is an ongoing project which doesn’t really have an end in sight. What is cool about gardening is that you can’t always speed things up when it comes to plants and flowers, once planted all you can do is look after them until they decide that it is time to bloom. 

Pride

Honesty I feel a great sense of pride when I look at what I have crated in the garden and when we invite people over and they make comments, it does fill me with joy. It is nice to have something which you have created and it is just another reason why I fell in love with gardening. 

Why not give it a try this year and see how you feel about it. 

Jane