Some people see our garden and think we're awesome, and some people see it and think we're crazy! Our white farmhouse is 1100 square feet and our garden is 2400 square feet, so maybe that does make a little nuts, but we are crazy about gardening because it's played a large role in healing our family too.
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| Gardening in the rain |
We moved into our house in 2011, threadbare from the hardships of life. James was working sixty hours a week, taking care of me, and trying to keep up with the house. I was recovering from a surgery to remove a tumor from my lungs, battling a lung infection and nerve damage, and couldn't do the simplest of things, like brush my hair. Our kids were traumatized from all of my time in the hospital and struggling with separation anxiety disorder at school, worried that they'd come home and I wouldn't be there any longer.
I started the garden because I wanted something to do while James was working and the kids were at school. I wanted affordable organic food with no chemicals in it (doctors mentioned the cancer could have come from the chemicals used on the orchards surrounding my childhood home). I had good memories of working in the family garden with my five sisters, singing songs from Annie, particularly Hard Knock Life, while we were supposed to be weeding, and daring our sister Emma to eat worms (you'll have to ask her if she gave in)!
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| Beautiful Indiana evening |
The first year I planted one hundred strawberries in the rain with my dad, along with some asparagus and rhubarb. Over the winter James and I talked about what seeds we wanted to start and read gardening books for tips. Throughout the spring and summer we would tuck the kids safely in bed, and work in the garden until the sun set. In the quietness of the garden the long days fell away. We talked about life, the kids, and our dreams. The doctors said nerve damage was a slow heal and encouraged me to keep using my arm. The first year I could work in the garden for 10 minutes, the next 30 minutes, the next an hour, and now I can work for quite a long time without problems.
We put a lot of time into our garden, but we've reaped nothing but benefits (and good food)!
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| Our garden |
1. Building family memories- We have so many memories we've created from working together in the garden. I still get made fun of for the time I was digging up potatoes and dug up a nest of baby snakes... I've never jumped so high, screamed so loud, and ran so fast in my life!
2.Communnication- without the blare of the T.V. and distraction of cell phones, the garden is a place where we work and talk about everything as a couple and with our kids.
3. Exercise- gardening burns anywhere from 300-350 calories an hour
4. Healthy Diet- It's easy to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables when they're right outside the door, and the kids are willing to try new veggies if they're excited about growing them!
5. Health Benefits of Organic Food- we've learned to garden without using any type of pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. Using compost as a fertilizer adds trace minerals the body needs to fight disease that aren't found in fruits and vegetables that aren't grown in compost.
6. Less Waste- Instead of throwing food into landfills, many food scraps, leaves, grass clippings, and even some paper products can be used for compost, which as I mentioned above is great for your plants and for you!
7. Saving Money- We've learned to save seeds, start seedlings, and preserve our harvest for pennies... and it's all organic, so we save big bucks on our grocery bill.
8. Big flavor- the flavor of veggies from the garden are so much better than the grocery store! If you doubt me, do a tasting party with veggies from the store and veggies from a neighbor who gardens or the farmers market, and see what wins!
9. Community- there's usually an abundance from the garden to be shared with family, friends, neighbors, and for us, even soccer players! You can't share veggies without having a conversation!
10. Mental and Physical Wellbeing- Gardening has been shown to reduce stress and depression. For me, it helped with the muscle and nerve damage from my surgery.
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| There's nothing like fresh picked veggies |
Stories about gardening always catch my attention, but I love it when I hear stories about others who have reaped the benefits of gardening. Several months ago I clipped an article called "Happiness Blooms From Gardening" from My Indiana Home about a man who lost his wife and kids in a tragic accident. After spending five years in depression, he started a flower garden. Now he plants thousands of bulbs every year, and his gardens bring joy not only to him, but to people from all over Indiana who come to see the flowers.
One evening I had the news on and I heard a brief story about astronauts gardening in space. I was fascinated that they weren't just gardening to have an alternate food source, but as a way to reduce stress and fight depression as well!
One of my favorite gardening quotes I've ever heard came from the July 16th episode of Growing a Greener World. Celebrity chef, Graham Kerr, said, "At the same time I'm working, I'm being rewarded by it. It looks great when I have finished, it tastes great when I have finished, and I have more coming up than I can eat that I can give away to people that I care a lot about. What can enjoyment can you get besides singing The Lord's Prayer in the Sistine Chapel?"
Giving credit and extra reading
http://www.my-indiana-home.com/farm/happiness-blooms-through-gardening/
http://modernfarmer.com/2013/09/starship-salad-bar/
http://www.growingagreenerworld.com/episode216/
