6 Lessons We Learned From Gardening

When we started gardening as a hobby we learned so much about ourselves.  Gardening isn’t just about pulling weeds and watering veggies.  Deep down it teaches us how to live life, how to expect the unexpected and so much more.  We took the time and listed the 6 Lessons We Learned From Gardening in hopes to open the eyes of everyone that isn’t gardening and to help shed light on the deeper meaning behind it.

Enjoy our list and make sure to share this article with your friends and fellow gardeners.  If you haven’t, subscribe to our RSS Feed and view our blog entries at your leisure.

Things take time.

Just like in real-life, things just take time.  You can’t fast forward.  You can do a lot of things to help aid in the amount of time something takes – but the majority of the time the time saved is minor.  Patience is something we are told is a virtue and after gardening you realize that even more.  Watching a plant grow from a seed to a fruit/vegetable bearing plant is a long process and people without patience will likely bail on the whole thing long before harvest time.

Gardening teaches you that things take time; it doesn’t matter if we are talking about relationships, make-ups, break-ups, careers or whatever else.  Being patient with things will usually result in much better results.

Sometimes you have to sweat.

Rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty is just part of the job.  Some days it is smiles & sunshine and some days are assholes & elbows.  You can’t help but to get in there and work hard if you want results.  If that means you have to dig up the entire garden to get it the way you want, so be it.  What has to be done has to be done.  So get started.

One thing I have definitely learned about gardening is the fact that it takes a lot of work to have pretty, healthy and hardy looking crops/plants/flowers.  Just like with most other things, it takes hard work to have an awesome marriage… it takes hard work to have a successful career.  Do not think you can ride coat-tails to the top, you will be transparent the day someone bites into your tomato.

Your produce says a lot about you.

If you walked into our garden and saw rotten watermelons, dead grape vines and dried up tomato vines… it wouldn’t be hard to figure out that we have not been doing our job.  Our quality is way down and our garden shows it.  Sometimes things are beyond our control, like drought and wind… the elements.  In those few cases, excuses are usually enough.  Beyond that, you have to look deeper and see why it is your quality is lacking.

Just like in life, if you produce low quality goods (whether it be websites, design, t-shirts, cakes)… you will be labeled a low-quality supplier.  You must be sure to always be putting out your best work or expect people to react in that fashion.  Your level of work sets the standard in which you will be judged by.  Remember that.

Garden keeps the love alive.

My wife and I spend time every single day walking around in our garden, seeing what is new, relaxing and working.  This is time we both cherish (not to sound mushy & corny), knowing that due to gardening we have this special time that no one can take away.  Gardening gives you a sense of companionship (when done with someone else or if it is just between the plants and yourself) that is unmatched with other hobbies.  Taking something from a seed to a fruit producing plant is an achievement that when shared; gives all involved a great sense of teamwork.

With life there are chances that present themselves and all to often we find excuses to ignore or just plain disregard them.  Life is all about the friendships, relationships and experiences we are able to have, we have to stop letting small hangups or excuses to get in the way.  Companionship is important for everyone, gardening teaches you that importance again.

Life isn’t always sunshine and cartwheels.

One day you grow, learn, live and love… the next is filled with hail stones and squirrel raids.  The simple fact is, just like our own lives, gardens go through life cycles (trials & tribulations) too.  Far to often one day your admiring your first potential harvest – only to find that ants have invaded causing aphids and that potential crop is all but a memory.  This roller coaster ride is no different than our own and learning that each day is a new day (good or bad) and so how you approach it is going to decide how it gets handled. 

Things are going to happen daily that are unforeseen and possibly unmanageable for a short time – but it will subside and tomorrow will bring you the fruits of a new day.  Crazy to relate the two, but it is seriously something that has opened my eyes a bit and eased my mind from time to time.

The satisfaction of completion is irreplaceable.

The day your plant or flower produces its first bloom due to your regiment of water and additives… it takes a lot to wipe that smile off your face.  Just like in the real world, completion is a big factor for self confidence.  That open-ended project you have is nothing without benchmarks to show your level of completion.  That meeting is nothing if you can’t close the deal.  Completion is one of the most important things in life, gardening shows you that quickly. 

From sewing your seeds to harvesting your tomatoes – both have levels of completion that keep you going.  When you finally are done with this years crop, you have a feeling that is hard to describe.  You have a swagger about you, a confidence that cannot be substituted.  That same feeling as when you graduate from high school, win that medal or make the front page of digg.  A pat on the back, if you will.  Biting into your homegrown tomato is gardening’s way of patting you on the back.