Garden Love: Cultivating Growth One Seed At A Time
Do you plant your garden with love?
I began experimenting with gardening years ago and became more serious about it several years back. Ironically, we had planned a fairly large garden project the winter prior to Covid-19. Due to this, we found ourselves starting seeds, building raised garden beds, and learning all we could about growing food during the spring 2020 lockdown. Admittedly, it was a great distraction during such a volatile time. Since then, our garden has grown to include more raised beds, herb and flower beds, an in-ground garden, and “Soulplace,” my beautiful greenhouse. Learn more about my greenhouse Here.
2024 will mark our fourth year growing our own food in the loamy soil of western NC. I am in no means a seasoned gardener, however, I learn and improve each year. Additionally, my confidence grows each time I sink a seed in the soil to later be rewarded with pounds of nutrient-dense veggies. It will never cease to amaze me the magic of a small seed turning into sustaining, healthy food. Growing your own food offers so many health benefits. Read more about the clinical research Here.
This article is intended to spread the love that comes from gardening. Often, we become excited about the idea of growing tomatoes, peppers, and cukes. Equally important, we grow lessons, confidence, and love! Warning! This article is part garden content and part romance novel. Specifically, the main characters are the garden and the gardener! Enjoy!
A Gardens Physical Connection
Have you ever picked and eaten a vine-ripened tomato right from your garden in mid-summer? The experience can be downright life-changing! Oftentimes, I find myself working in the garden in the heat of summer and snacking on cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers right from the vine. The store-bought varieties just don’t compare to homegrown produce. Without a doubt, locally sourced produce offers a number of physical benefits. Read my article about making the perfect southern style tomato sandwich Here!
Physical Benefits of a Garden
- Gardening encourages regular physical activity. Tending to a garden involves tasks like digging, planting, weeding, and harvesting, which all contribute to exercise.
- Engaging in these activities can improve cardiovascular health, strengthen muscles, and enhance flexibility.
- A diet rich in homegrown vegetables provides us with a multitude of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Consequently, a diet rich in garden food can boost immunity, regulate digestion, and maintain a healthy weight.
- Freshly picked vegetables often have higher nutrient levels compared to store-bought ones, providing optimal nourishment for overall well-being.
- Furthermore, gardening exposes individuals to sunlight, aiding in the production of vitamin D, essential for bone health and mood regulation.
- Overall, growing vegetables not only fosters physical fitness but also supports a nutritious lifestyle.
A Gardens Emotional Connection
Humans have a deep-rooted bond with the earth, soil, and gardens. This connection to the earth transcends mere physicality, it is essentially the fabric of our existence. From the earliest civilizations, cultivating crops and foraging the land sustained us. Fast-forward many years to modern-day urban gardeners tending to rooftop plots, the act of working the soil and nurturing life has always been intrinsic to our survival and well-being. Are you looking for a way to reduce stress in your life? Get your hands in the soil!
Emotional Benefits of a Garden
- Gardens not only provide sustenance for our bodies but also nourishment for our souls. These lovely plots of nourishment offer a sanctuary where we can reconnect with nature.
- Likewise, a garden can act as a remembering of sorts. Specifically, remembering our interconnectedness and belonging to ourselves and to everything around us. The earth serves as a reminder of our place within the natural world.
- Gardening often grounds us in the present moment and fosters a sense of being part of something greater than ourselves.
- In tending to our gardens, we honor this timeless connection, recognizing that our relationship with the earth is not merely one of exploitation, but of mutual respect and cooperation.
A Gardens Spirtual Connection
Nurturing a garden provides a spiritual connection with your land, food, and natural resources. I believe, for many people, tending a garden is a very spiritual experience. Personally, this is very true for myself. For this reason, I decided to research this topic a little, and I am excited to share it with my readers. See below the natural connection between growing our food and our spiritual body.
Spiritual Benefits of a Garden
- Growing a garden with love offers an escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life, providing a calming space to connect with nature and find inner peace.
- Tending to plants can instill a sense of mindfulness and presence, as one becomes attuned to the rhythms of the natural world.
- Having a birds’ eye view of the growth and development of plants from seed to harvest can evoke a profound sense of awe and wonder. Likewise, this can foster a deeper appreciation for the miracles of life.
- Tending a garden with love also promotes a sense of responsibility and stewardship, as individuals care for and nurture living beings.
- This connection to the earth and the cycles of growth can lead to feelings of gratitude, humility, and being connected with all living things.
- Ultimately, cultivating a garden can be a spiritual practice that nourishes the soul and cultivates a sense of harmony with the universe.
Final Thoughts
Have I lit a flame within you to plant a garden? Maybe that flame was lit years ago, and you experience the love of growing a garden every season. I tend to believe, in my rose-colored glasses, that if more people grew a garden there would be more peace in the world.
One more tip before I let you go! Be sure, if you happen to drop some seeds in your plot of soil this year, that you take the time for this most important step! Bless them! Yes! As each seed drops from the palm of your hand into the living soil beneath you, bless them. Send them blessings of life, growth, and love! You see, this is the most important step of all! Happy Gardening!
Want more? Several months ago I wrote an article about the victory garden in the Cummings Cove Neighborhood. Learn more about their community vegetable garden, which helps feed many local folks in western North Carolina Here.
