The official definition of gardening is the activity of tending and cultivating a garden, especially as a pastime. The official definition is really just the tip of the iceberg lettuce. Gardening isn’t just about tending and cultivating plants but it is also about tending and cultivating yourself and your family. Let’s dig a little deeper together and explore what is gardening!
Cultivating your garden and yourself
Gardening is about cultivating. Some gardens are purely ornamental which means you would be cultivating flowers and ornamental plants. Ornamental gardens are a wonderful way to cultivate beauty in your surroundings. Other gardens are cultivated to produce food. Fruit and vegetable gardens cultivate crops which can be used and enjoyed as a food source in the future.
Ornamental gardens as well as vegetable gardens give you a chance to connect with nature, connect with your family and cultivate yourself in the process of cultivating your garden. Gardening will teach you things about yourself you may not learn otherwise. Patience, hard work, resourcefulness and the sense of satisfaction which comes when enjoy your first produce of the season.
Cultivating a future
Gardens are an important way to cultivate our future. Cultivating plants is so important because we cannot eat, drink or breath without them. We need plants to survive. Plants produce oxygen and without them we wouldn’t survive. Just know when you are planting a garden you are helping to cultivate a better future for us all.
Gardens also provide an abundance of food which can be canned or frozen for future use. At the end of the garden season when you put away your tools you can rest assured you will still be enjoying the rewards of your efforts in the future. There is nothing better than enjoying peas or green beans canned from the garden in the middle of winter.
Cultivating connections
Gardening allows you the opportunity to cultivate connections. Through your gardening efforts you will connect with your children, neighbors and other gardeners. As you kneel in the dirt with your children, uninterrupted by technology or other distractions you will find yourself having conversations you wouldn’t have otherwise. When you grow and excessive amount of tomatoes you will connect with your neighbors as you share your bounty. And when you struggle with your potato crop you will connect with other gardeners as you try to find a solution to your dilemma.
Gardening gives you a chance to connect with others in a meaningful and natural way. As you connect with nature it becomes even easier to connect with others.