Be Thankful for Gardening

Posted by Katie Elzer-Peters
November 26th, 2008
Filed in Seasonal Garden Maintenance
Tags: flowers, gardening, vegetables

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States.  It has almost disappeared as a holiday, with Christmas decorations going up right after Halloween in many places.  (I think WalMart had a tree up on November 1.)  I still like it for what it is:  a chance to gather with family and friends after a long summer.  It is a chance to hunker down for winter.  Where I live, I could garden all year long, and I might next year.  (I have, several times, priced a load of compost and topsoil mix for my new organic vegetable garden I plan to put in.)  I do think of Thanksgiving as a slumbering of the garden and an end to one season.  It is the beginning of the sleepy period where I dream of next year’s garden.  When I think back over the years of gardening, I have many things to be happy about and thankful for.

Give Thanks for Gardening

• Gardening is a marvelous stress release.  It allows for physical exercise outdoors with tangible results.
• Gardening helps the earth, especially organic gardening, by maintaining wildlife habitats that would otherwise be carved up by development.
• (Ok, this one is a bit shallow, but, anyway)  Gardening gives me an excuse to buy fun swag.  I especially like the multi-colored hoses and watering wands from Dramm.
• Gardening is my passion, and I’ve been lucky enough to make a career out of it.  Not many people can say that they do what they love every day.
• Plants do not talk back.  If you are having a bad day, chances are great that it will get better if you spend time in the garden.
• Nothing is more fun than bringing in an armload of flowers you grew yourself to display on the kitchen table.
• Gardening presents endless opportunities to learn and grow.  (I could not resist the pun!)  There is always a new plant to culture, a new color combination to try and a new vegetable to wrangle.
• Eating your own lettuce is the yummiest part of any dinner.  Growing and eating your own lettuce is one of the most satisfying things a person can do.  (Aphids or not.  Shout out to Liz!  We can beat those aphids!)
• When you grow your own organic flowers and vegetables, you know what you put into the garden, so you do not have to be worried about what you are eating.

You probably have your own list of reasons to be thankful for gardening.  Share them with us!