Having a beautiful vegetable garden not only feeds my belly but also my soul. I never get tired of looking at my garden from different angles. My house backs up to a community garden where I have two plots in addition to my backyard garden. On my walks back from working in my plots I get to view my backyard vegetable garden from afar as I approach it. When I step out my back door I am right in the garden, so I also see it from a closer, opposite angle than when I am walking from the community garden. Other times, as I am kneeling or crouching down in my garden weeding or planting I look around and I am surrounded by the tall plants and flowers and I feel that I am within the garden.
This year, I have really enjoyed the view of the garden from inside my house. I can see various parts of my perennial and vegetable gardens from almost all of my windows. All of these different views through the windows give me little unexpected zings of happiness as they frame up charming snapshots of my garden. It’s like they are sets of eyes that filter and frame the garden for me – offering gifts of changing vignettes every time I pass a window. My absolute favorite view this season has been through my bedroom windows. I have a garden bed right up against the back of the house that holds some of my favorite annual flowers. When it’s not too hot outside I like to make sure all of the shades are pulled up so that every time I walk in the room I am treated to a pop of red from a globe amaranth, a waving yellow flower from the rudbeckia or the silhouette of a monarch perched on a flower.
The effect these views have on me day after day is an intangible part of gardening that is not as measurable as how many tomatoes I harvested this year or how much exercise I get from my garden. I love those days when I harvest a bucketful of red peppers, of course. But, when I stop and think deeply about why I love to garden, it’s not just the material benefits I reap in the form of vegetables and fruit. There’s a deeper current running underneath the garden work and the abundant harvest. It’s one of deep joy, soul touching beauty and the profound peacefulness of being part of a natural cycle. My garden moves me, a little each day, time and time again. And truly, that is a gift worth more than a thousand red tomatoes.
Comments
What a beautiful essay on the joys of gardening. Mother Nature truly is our mother and she blesses all of us with such vibrant, nurturing, joyous gifts.
Thanks for reminding me of this with such lovely words.
Thanks, Margaret! You are a wonderfully loyal reader 😉
I, too, take great satisfaction just from looking at my garden. It is a circle garden with a grass/thyme lawn in the middle and 8 spokes that form a labyrinth path winding around and between the 16 curved beds in concentric arcs. When I am anxious, I find solace in closing my eyes and following the path in my mind.
The candy-like flavor of the cherry tomatoes for the past several months has been an added treat. And finding out that digging in the dirt makes us happier and smarter has been the frosting on the cake!
Julie- I love the image of you closing your eyes and placing yourself in your garden. Another reminder that the garden sure does feed us in many ways!
Not to mention that everything you grow tastes wonderful. Plus it has your own energy from the whole season coming back to you as food and nourishment! Eating from your garden becomes just as soulful, I think.
Maureen- Yes, that’s a wonderful point. The garden just keeps giving all winter long as we pull food from our freezers and pantries for sustenance!