How I Got into Gardening
A while back, I knew nothing about gardening or the abundance of animals and insect life all around me. Each week, I would pull out the weed whacker and cut all the greenery in the front yard, blades of grass hitting my shins to the tune of a deafening ‘drunnnn.’ Each time I started this process, I wondered what I could do to make this task easier. Pretty soon, I added some flowering plants to one side of the yard to cut down on the amount of grass I had to cut. Once I added flowers I immediately started noticing different types of butterflies and ladybugs and beetles. Then I came across a huge patch of common milkweed growing on the side of my house and when I Googled it to see what it was, I learned all about the Monarch butterfly and the importance of native plants in the landscape.
From there, I became interested in all things green, particularly growing my own food and treading as lightly as I could on the earth. I stopped using any kind of pesticide or herbicide, I traded in the weed whacker for a manual reel mower, I started learning about different “weeds” to know what was beneficial or not, I had a native pollinator garden installed in the front yard, I successfully grew vegetables in my back yard, and I thought to myself: everyone should know about this! If I can learn this stuff, anybody can!
Gardening is important, sacred knowledge in my opinion, and we should all have access to it. I’m no master gardener. I share what works for me and how I do things so other people can see that it doesn’t have to perfect. You don’t need to go to school or pay to take a course or have a green house or an acre of land. You can start seeds in a tiny corner of your home, you can grow lots of vegetables in a small space, you can grow a native plant- you can do it, anyone can.
This knowledge is needed now more than ever as we struggle with potential food shortages due to the COVID19 crisis and as more and more animals and insects end up on the endangered species list. We must learn as much as we can so that we can teach our children how to grow food and how to respect and restore nature. Gardening is way more than just planting pretty flowers. Each person who grows something or tends a patch of something is having a direct effect on the environment around them, and that is truly powerful. That’s why it’s important to get involved and learn, learn, learn.
