Digging into Gardening: A First-Timer Gardener’s Experience
My royal blue pot of choice with a packet of Zinnia flowers.
Pic creds: me
By: Emma Travers
Growing up, my family always had a garden. Whether it was the flower garden in the front of the house, or the vegetable garden in the backyard, we always had something growing. Now, the word “we” is being used as a term to just describe my mom and dad. I never wanted anything to do with a garden. Sitting outside all day to plant things was not my ideal Saturday morning. But now I've decided to change my thoughts on gardening and try it for myself.
When I say I am gardening, I am starting out on a very basic level. I’m planting flowers in a small pot. I thought starting on a small level would be smart because I didn’t feel like utilizing the entirety of my dad’s garden and then wind up killing all of it.
I grabbed a small pot, a shovel, dirt, and my flowers of choice. I started by pouring some water into my pot and then started patting it all down. Then I gently placed my flower seeds down. For this step I placed them in certain spots because I was working with such a small space. If I was doing this in a garden, I probably would’ve haphazardly thrown them and hoped for the best.
After I had my seeds placed, I placed more dirt on top of my seeds in the pot. I then proceeded to pat down this level as well. After patting down the dirt, I gave my seeds a quick watering and placed the pot in a place to receive adequate sunlight.
Drop. Cover. Water. Repeat. I had my summer eclectic playlist going behind me as I sat on the porch spending my afternoon covering my hands in dirt. In that respect, after I had finished planting my flowers, I glanced down at my hands to find them covered in every crevasse with dirt.
Now I realize why I always hated gardening. I just don’t have the patience to wait for these things to grow. It’s officially been a week or two since I planted my flowers and I haven’t seen as much as a sprout come up yet. The question, “Did I do this wrong,” has run through my head a few times. And while the answer is most likely yes, I am still awaiting the moment my flowers will come up.
The process of waiting has not been fun, but I know that when my flowers come up, I will be thankful I put that time into planting them. I think gardening relates to life so well.
We so often complete tasks that seem mundane believing we may never see the great things that will come out of it. Or, we complete tasks and expect change to happen overnight. Though it could take weeks, or months, to see our hard work pay off, the light at the end of the path makes it all worthwhile in the end. When my flowers finally bloom I will be so thankful I planted them weeks before.
I would also say that gardening is such a great calming mechanism. Sitting in the fresh air, the sun beaming down on my face, and a pot of dirt in front of me is so peaceful. Joy can be found in the simplest moments if you just look hard enough.
So, in the end, gardening definitely grew a new sense of patience within me. And if you are an outdoorsy, patient person I would totally recommend gardening. And if you aren’t, do it anyway! It may be more fun than you thought.
#jhstrojantorch
