Yup, I’m one of those people and I have no regrets. I started a garden during the pandemic. Not only were we in the midst of a pandemic but I was on maternity leave. So aside from taking care of Micah and adjusting to motherhood I had a lot of time on my hands (she says sarcastically).
Before we dive into it let me tell you – I was never great at caring for plants. I always wanted to have house plants, grow a flower bed outside, and all the domesticated things but I could never keep those damn things alive. Whether it was not enough water, sunlight, or too much water and sunlight I could never seem to get it right. Regardless of my previous history of killing plants (what Charlie called “the blood lust” lol) I decided to do it anyway.
I did no research. I didn’t know what plants to buy. I didn’t think about where to plant them. I just went for it and I’m so glad I did. I think if I had done too much research prior to starting I would have probably talked myself out of it. Having a garden takes work and it can get overwhelming really fast. But I stuck with it and learned along the way. Sound familiar?
Yup, as soon as I started learning about the garden I saw so many parallels to life. No wonder there are so many gardening parables in the bible! It was then that the garden became so much more than a fun thing to do – which it was! The garden became a teacher, a place of refuge, and an opportunity to learn about so many aspects of life. I wanted to share with you a few things that I’ve learned from the garden so far.
- Planting a seed and it turning to a thriving plant that gives off fruit takes a LONG time. It requires a lot of patience, care, and maintenance. It definitely doesn’t happen overnight. Give your plant time to sprout, adjust to the soil and its surroundings, and feed off the nutrients you give it.
- Pruning is necessary. There were times where I needed to prune a branch of my plant that had fruit growing on it. It was so hard to get myself to do it because I was worried about if I prune this branch, what if I prune off a great fruit? The reality is – pruning is necessary so that the energy is being focused on that branches and fruit that remain. If there’s more energy that can be put into those branches the fruit it bears will be even better.
- There are seasons where certain plants thrive better. There are plants that won’t even sprout if not planted in the right conditions. Some plants love the cold, some love the heat. It all depends on the plant and what you’re growing.
- You’re going to attract unwanted pests. When you have something that another wants you’re going to attract unwanted visitors. You can’t avoid this reality. The only thing you can do is to just protect your garden the best you can.
- Have fun with it. Don’t just make it about growing fruits, vegetables, and plants because if you make it all about production then it’s just going to turn into another stressor. When you focus on what’s fun the rest will fall into its place. And if it doesn’t, don’t be afraid to learn from it try again.
Be bold in the garden,
Kissa
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