I believe gardening can change the world. Every time I say this I think of Avatar The Last Airbender and hear it in Kataras voice exactly like the way she says, “But I believe that Ang can save the world.” This is probably because this show was a family favorite when my boys were younger. They still like it now as it was a big part of their childhood. The way Katara says it, there is so much hope in her voice, just as there is so much hope in mine when I talk about gardening. Gardening is beautiful. Gardening is awe inducing. Gardening is inspiring. 

Gardening connects us to nature through working with the plants and soil we tend. Touching soil that is filled with so much microscopic life is amazing and so special. Even though we can not see all the goodness happening within the soil, we can see it in the bounty of harvests it provides us. I can not tell you how many times a day or week I tell myself silently or say out loud how much I love plants. Plants and gardening have had a profound impact on my life in so many ways, too numerous to say in a single blog post. Instead I want to share a few ways to feel more connected to your garden.

• Take Daily Garden Walks – One of the best ways to feel connected to your garden is to be in the garden as much as possible. Intentional garden walks where you look at every plant closely, feel their leaves, offer love to will help give you a strong bind to everything growing in your garden.
• Create Lounging Spaces – When you have a little spot or nook to sit in your garden to relax, sip tea, enjoy a meal or read a book you will grow a huge appreciation for your garden. Spaces like these encourage you to be in your garden for more than tending or harvesting. Make little spots with room for just a single person and others that are large enough for your family and guests depending upon your space.
• Grow What You Love – Focusing on growing plants and food crops that you love instead of what you feel like you should grow based what’s popular or what’s on social media will bring more connection and happiness to your garden. Create planting plans focused around ingredients from your families favorite recipes. When it comes to growing medicinal herbs grow those that benefit your family most. As for flowers, grow the ones that make your heart smile.
• Garden Together – Invite your family to join you in the garden, they soon may find themselves connected to the garden too. Including our children to assist, play or just be in the garden while we are there can show them how truly important this way of life is. There are so many lessons to be found in growing our own food, flowers and herbs.
• Enjoy the Little Moments – In the midst of the high season in the garden it can be challenging to feeling anything other than busy and hurried, but taking the time to enjoy the little moments can bring us out of those feelings. Appreciating a lady bug, popping a warm tomato into your mouth on a hot afternoon, sharing fresh picked flowers can help you feel deeply connected to your garden. It really is all the little things that happen without much notice that are really where the magic is. 

Feeling deeply connected to our garden can very much be cyclical. I don’t want to give the impression that we should feel this deep bond all the time, but taking steps or creating habits that help us feel that connection can help bring us through trying times inside and outside of the garden. Gardening can change the world for the better on so many levels. I hope these ideas bring a little bit if inspiration to you for the coming gardening season. May you feel the love, hope and comfort your garden has waiting for you.