# What is it about gardening that makes many people love it?



## Gael (Mar 26, 2014)

What aspects of gardening cause people to love it so much?


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## Warrigal (Mar 26, 2014)

For me, it's just getting my hands in the dirt.


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## Gael (Mar 26, 2014)

Warrigal said:


> For me, it's just getting my hands in the dirt.



OK, and what does having hands in dirt do for you?


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## Warrigal (Mar 26, 2014)

Takes me back to my childhood. 
Loved playing mud pies.


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## Raven (Mar 26, 2014)

As soon as the weather warms up in spring I want to plant seeds and transplants and 
watch them grow and bloom.  Gardening is a rewarding hobby and lovely flowers and plants
can sure lift my spirits.  Gardening is also good exercise and a way to be outside in the fresh air.


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## Jillaroo (Mar 26, 2014)

_I used to enjoy gardening but since i have moved i can only have plants in pots and my injuries stop me from being able to look after them properly, i miss getting down and dirty then sitting back and enjoying the show of flowers, i had beautiful roses but they don't like the humidity here_


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## rkunsaw (Mar 26, 2014)

What Raven said plus you get to eat varieties of food that you will never find in a store. Commercial vegetables are grown for shipping and storage abilities. Home grown vegetables are grown for taste and nutrition.

Have you ever seen purple cauliflower in a grocery? Or white or rose eggplant? If you've only eaten corn from a market then you don't know what sweet corn tastes like.

And, thanks to my wife, we have always had the prettiest yard in the area no matter where we have lived.


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## rkunsaw (Mar 26, 2014)

Jillaroo said:


> _I used to enjoy gardening but since i have moved i can only have plants in pots and my injuries stop me from being able to look after them properly, i miss getting down and dirty then sitting back and enjoying the show of flowers, i had beautiful roses but they don't like the humidity here_



I understand and sympathize Jillaroo. Gardening seems to get harder for us every year. We keep trying to cut back but then keep on adding more.


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## Jackie22 (Mar 26, 2014)

I love being surrounded by nature and beauty....therefore I garden.  The growing process of flowers and veggies is a wondrous thing for me, it satisfies my soul, brings peace, it is therapy for any stress or problem.  If there were only one thing I could pick to pass on to my offspring, it would be the love of gardening.


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## Knightofalbion (Mar 26, 2014)

I think it answers a yearning deep within, one finds peace being amidst the beauty of nature, escaping the hustle and bustle of modern life - and if you're spiritually 'keyed in', it makes your spirit feel closer to God.


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## Gael (Mar 26, 2014)

Warrigal said:


> Takes me back to my childhood.
> Loved playing mud pies.



Well, that's a good thing to relive happy childhood times.


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## Gael (Mar 26, 2014)

Knightofalbion said:


> I think it answers a yearning deep within, one finds peace being amidst the beauty of nature, escaping the hustle and bustle of modern life - and if you're spiritually 'keyed in', it makes your spirit feel closer to God.



I think you're right on that point. It brings one close to the creation and the creator if you are inclined that way.

For me it's also about the aesthetics. As an artist I love beauty in all forms. And what is more lovely then a garden?


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## Gael (Mar 26, 2014)

Raven said:


> As soon as the weather warms up in spring I want to plant seeds and transplants and
> watch them grow and bloom.  Gardening is a rewarding hobby and lovely flowers and plants
> can sure lift my spirits.  Gardening is also good exercise and a way to be outside in the fresh air.



All valid points!


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## Gael (Mar 26, 2014)

Jackie22 said:


> I love being surrounded by nature and beauty....therefore I garden.  The growing process of flowers and veggies is a wondrous thing for me, it satisfies my soul, brings peace, it is therapy for any stress or problem.  If there were only one thing I could pick to pass on to my offspring, it would be the love of gardening.



It is said over and over to be wondrously theraputic.



rkunsaw said:


> I understand and sympathize Jillaroo. Gardening seems to get harder for us every year. We keep trying to cut back but then keep on adding more.



I would think the kneeling aspect is especially hard.



rkunsaw said:


> What Raven said plus you get to eat varieties of food that you will never find in a store. Commercial vegetables are grown for shipping and storage abilities. Home grown vegetables are grown for taste and nutrition.
> 
> Have you ever seen purple cauliflower in a grocery? Or white or rose eggplant? If you've only eaten corn from a market then you don't know what sweet corn tastes like.
> 
> And, thanks to my wife, we have always had the prettiest yard in the area no matter where we have lived.



It's not only aestheically pleasing but has a practical purpose as well.



Jillaroo said:


> _I used to enjoy gardening but since i have moved i can only have plants in pots and my injuries stop me from being able to look after them properly, i miss getting down and dirty then sitting back and enjoying the show of flowers, i had beautiful roses but they don't like the humidity here_



But you can have lovely potted gardens as well:

http://www.pinterest.com/growcoach/container-gardening-ideas/



Raven said:


> As soon as the weather warms up in spring I want to plant seeds and transplants and
> watch them grow and bloom.  Gardening is a rewarding hobby and lovely flowers and plants
> can sure lift my spirits.  Gardening is also good exercise and a way to be outside in the fresh air.



Well said!:yes:


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## That Guy (Mar 26, 2014)

I dig gardening . . .

It's a connection to the earth thing.  I am a Taurus, after all . . .


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## Gael (Mar 26, 2014)

That Guy said:


> I dig gardening . . .
> 
> It's a connection to the earth thing.  I am a Taurus, after all . . .



You would dig for gardening.:tongue:


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## Happyflowerlady (Mar 26, 2014)

Jillaroo said:


> _I used to enjoy gardening but since i have moved i can only have plants in pots and my injuries stop me from being able to look after them properly, i miss getting down and dirty then sitting back and enjoying the show of flowers, i had beautiful roses but they don't like the humidity here_



I can relate to that; I can't get down and kneel in the dirt anymore either. I mostly grow things that are fairly simple and easy to plant and grow. I also do the container gardening, and that makes the plants easier to care for. 
I love the taste and variety of home grown fruits and veggies; and I especially enjoy trying different varieties that i have never had before.
One nice thing about gardening, is that it can be done on about any level, from having a few potted plants in a sunny window; to growing a huge vegetable garden, or a yard blossoming with beautiful flowers.
If all else fails, there is always sprouting. anyone can easily grow most of their greens just by sprouting them. It keeps me feeling like a gardener, even during the cold winter months.

According to the Bible; the first thing God did was to plant a garden in Eden; so if the God of all Creation is a gardener, then I am in good company.


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## Gael (Mar 26, 2014)

Happyflowerlady said:


> I can relate to that; I can't get down and kneel in the dirt anymore either. I mostly grow things that are fairly simple and easy to plant and grow. I also do the container gardening, and that makes the plants easier to care for.
> I love the taste and variety of home grown fruits and veggies; and I especially enjoy trying different varieties that i have never had before.
> One nice thing about gardening, is that it can be done on about any level, from having a few potted plants in a sunny window; to growing a huge vegetable garden, or a yard blossoming with beautiful flowers.
> If all else fails, there is always sprouting. anyone can easily grow most of their greens just by sprouting them. It keeps me feeling like a gardener, even during the cold winter months.
> ...



Well said, HFL! And you're obviously an determined and adaptable gardener which has given you the continued enjoyment of your garden!

The best place to find God is in a garden. You can dig for him there.
*George Bernard Shaw*


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## Capt Lightning (Mar 28, 2014)

Like others, we garden because it's ther only way you can get vegetables that actually have taste.  It also allows us to grow varieties that you won't find in the supermarkets.
I'm not a religeous person, but I do marvel at the changes in the seasons.  If things seem bad, I just go and have a look from the back of my garden, and things seem better.


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## Gael (Mar 28, 2014)

Capt Lightning said:


> Like others, we garden because it's ther only way you can get vegetables that actually have taste.  It also allows us to grow varieties that you won't find in the supermarkets.
> I'm not a religeous person, but I do marvel at the changes in the seasons.  If things seem bad, I just go and have a look from the back of my garden, and things seem better.



Nothing healthier you can do for yourself then to grow your own. What do you and your partner grow?


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## Mirabilis (Mar 28, 2014)

My grandfather was a horticulturist and mom lives in the garden 24/7.  I also love caring for the garden and watching it grow.  I remember buying ladybugs and letting them loose in my small yard in Cali.  I find it very therapeutic and comforting - perhaps the gratefulness of the flowering trees is like a big hug after a day at the office.


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## nan (Mar 28, 2014)

I love being in the garden ,in the fresh air and sunshine,  especially growing a vegie garden and knowing that its not going to be  sprayed with poisons and they will at least have flavour,I also love to grow flowers.


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## Ina (Mar 28, 2014)

Gail, I haven't been able to garden for a few years now, and I miss it terribly. For me it was like watching the life cycle  develop in a short time.


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## Capt Lightning (Mar 29, 2014)

Mirabilis, Here's a Ladybug from my garden specially for you.  (I trust we mean the same thing).


Gael, we don't grow anything exotic - the Scottish weather isn't great  fo that.  We grow fairly ordinary things such as...

Carrots, leeks, chard, kale, cabbage, Petit posy(sprouts), garlic etc...  Also grow strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb and gooseberries.  We make loads of jams and preserves.
In the polytunnel we grow salad veges - tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber and herbs.

When we lived in Hampshire, we had two large bay trees in the garden, but they're hard to grow so far north.


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## GeorgiaXplant (Mar 30, 2014)

Oh, my, Capt. Lightning! That's the view from your garden? Please invite me to come and stay! I'd throw away my BP meds!

We have a lovely and very large flower garden. Every year DGD says she wants to plant veggies. Every year she neglects them. I don't know why she bothers! Until last summer, I'd plant some tomatoes but the cutworms...ew...were so ugly that I couldn't even stand seeing them, much less getting rid of them, so last summer DD put the tomatoes in over on her side of the house. DD doesn't have much of a green thumb, so we only had four tomatoes even though we have a long growing season (from late March until late October). She hasn't mentioned planting any this year.

At the back of our flower garden we have a variety of Asiatic lilies that is breathtaking. They only bloom from mid to late June, but seeing them in bloom is worth the wait and the short time frame. Ahhhh. We have lots of other pretty flowers, of course, but the highlight of my summer is seeing those lilies.


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## Capt Lightning (Mar 30, 2014)

Georgia, here's another couple of photos taken from round my house...

View looking south towards Bennachie (The hill of the breast)







A misty winter day from my back garden...






Could you ever feel bad with views like these?


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## GeorgiaXplant (Mar 30, 2014)

Sigh. Those views just kind of knock the talk out of me! Splendid. Awe-inspiring. And all that stuff


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