It’s finally spring in Canada and that means we can at last go green, but not like post-modern Gaia worshippers. Rather, we can partake in the timeless pastime of gardening, connecting to both the natural world and one of your own design. It’s hard to overstate the merits of this.
Too many of us live in boxes high above the pavement, often without even a balcony and thus detached from the earth. If the benefits of gardening aren’t obvious, let’s look at a few. First, the utilitarian case for getting your thumb green which is, on its own, compelling.
Buy a bunch of bedding plants or, better yet, seeds, and get to work. Seeds are still fairly cheap, but this isn’t about the money. As any gardener will tell you, the passion quickly translates into ever more ambitious activity that in turn busts the bottom line.
That said, some produce like tomatoes, tree, or bush fruit are hands-down better from your own garden than from the store. Who can put a price tag on a perfectly ripe tomato or strawberry? What surpasses the fragrance of a freshly picked herb? And another dirty little gardening secret (don’t tell your spouse) is that the best produce never makes it into the house, it’s greedily eaten right off the vine. If you play your cards right and can master canning or blanching and freezing, your summer bounty will feed you right through the bleak mid-winter.
Second, there’s the simple aesthetic pleasure of viewing flowers, ornamental shrubs, and trees. Whether your .
