I’ve never had a passion for gardening, it always seemed like an activity for old people. During March of this year I decided to help my mom with making her dream garden.
Process of Making the Garden
My mom started by first giving me a tool called the hoe and told me to get rid of all the grass and weeds. I thought to myself that this is easy… but when I first started I got so tired digging up all the grass. My back and shoulders started to ache. My father and I took turns digging out all the grass. He taught me the right way to hold the hoe and how to dig the grass. After we finished digging out the grass, we started to level out the area. This took a lot of time and effort. We were met with a lot of challenges also, a lot of huge rocks and tree roots.
In my opinion getting the rocks and roots out was the hardest part in making the garden. After we had leveled the dirt we cut up some landscaping fabric and put it on top of the leveled dirt. We did this so grass and other weeds can’t grow. Then we started to cut bags of fertilized soil and laid it on top of the landscaping fabric. Then lastly we got a rake and evened out the soil. The next day my mom and I started to plant eggplant seeds and green pepper seeds.
What do I think about gardening?
I feel like gardening is pretty fun. You get to take care of plants and you get to watch them grow. I love having the responsibility of looking after the plants and watering them. It was so excited when I first saw the sprout of some of the plants. I felt accomplished and I knew I was doing a good job. At first I always thought gardening was boring but farming and harvesting has always been a part of my culture.
My mother comes from a farming background and with the farmers in India protesting for their livelihoods, I’ve found a love for just gardening. I never knew the actual joy of looking at plants. Every morning before school I go and check up on the plants to see what progress has been made. Also Just to plant a seed and watch it become a plant and for that plant to provide food is so crazy to me, it just starts with one little seed. Before I’ve never thought about it that way, that a little seed can provide so much food. Taking care of a garden has made me love nature more and it’s made me realize that nature is so beautiful and excellent.
Only annoying thing about planting was the squirrels, they would dig out the plants and just throw them on the side. I don’t get why they do that but it’s challenging because then the plant dies.
What are the Benefits of Gardening?
Garden helps reduce stress levels. It also improves mental health. I can say that gardening is very calming. It takes my mind off of everything… overall it’s very relaxing. A lot of addiction recovery programs use gardening as therapy. One study shows that plants bring positive energy and help people with recovery. Another benefit is you can grow fresh fruits and vegetables right in your backyard. You don’t have to go to the store and buy food, you can grow it right at home. It’s more healthier as well, you don’t have to worry about how many people touched the vegetables before you got your hands on it.
Conclusion
I never knew why my mom loved gardening but now I get it. It’s such a fun activity to do when you are stressed or in a bad mood. I also feel like the food tastes better when you plant it. As the world gets advanced in technology gardening is a good way to take a break from electronics. With gardening you get a chance to come outside and be with nature for a few minutes or hours.
