Why Gardening is the Ultimate Act of Self Care
The Surprising Satisfaction of Growing Your Own Food
Among many other things, I will remember 2020 as the year I started gardening.
This was a surprise to me. I never fancied myself as the gardening type. But when a global pandemic forced me to find a new hobby — one that didn’t involve socializing or travel — backyard vegetable gardening seemed like an obvious and accessible choice.
What I didn’t realize is how it would change me as a person, improve my relationship with food, and provide a sort of natural therapy during tumultuous times.
These are thoughts, observations, and lessons learned after my first year of gardening.
Lesson 1: Gardening teaches us to slow down.
Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.
— May Sarton, poet, novelist
Gardening is a slow and gentle hobby.
Unlike many of my other hobbies, it does not require a lot of mental energy or critical thinking.
It doesn’t require much thinking at all. And that’s probably why I like it.
Being an introvert, focusing on a task-based activity like gardening helps me to escape the traps of my own mind and focus on something tangible and real.
It is low stress, and it requires patience. There’s no rushing in gardening. In the first few weeks after planting, there isn’t much to do other than check the moisture of the soil and decide whether it needs water.
All you can do… is wait.
And then one day, you notice your first sprouts. Or your first budding flower. Your first tiny fruit or vegetable forming. And it’s an amazing feeling.
This feels like a radical protest of the busy pace and instant gratification demands of our modern world.
I pondered why it felt good, even right, to slow down in this way.
According to Psychology Today: “Many of the activities that promote instant gratification are linked to unhealthy behaviors.”
When we practice delayed gratification, like with gardening, it helps to strengthen and reinforce healthy brain patterns.
Garden teaches us patience and the simple art of slowing down.
Lesson 2: Growing your own food is an act of self-care and love.
“We may think we are nurturing our garden, but of course it’s our garden that is really nurturing us.” — Jenny Uglow, biographer, historian, writer
Self-care is a frequently-used term these days. Depending on who you talk to, it can mean a lot of different things.
It might be the broader idea of prioritizing mental health through acts of mindfulness. Or it might refer to a simple act like a bubble bath at the end of a long day.
But any definition of self-care that is linked to spending money causes me to take pause. My idea of self-care is not purchasing a 10-product skincare routine or a designer handbag.
To me, self-care is prioritizing the time to prepare healthy meals that properly nourish and fuel my body.
It’s even more rewarding when I’m preparing food that was grown in my own yard, with my own two hands. I was not prepared for how gratifying it felt to cook with vegetables from my own garden.
I also noticed a growing feeling of gratitude and respect for the plants that were fueling my body. I started to think about food differently — in a more positive and loving way.
Lesson 3: Gardening saves money.
This may seem like an obvious statement to some of you, but it genuinely surprised me.
As first-time gardeners, my husband and I weren’t sure what to expect, in terms of output. How many plants could we actually maintain? What could we actually produce?
We set our expectations low and decided to focus on enjoying the journey.
We decided to limit ourselves to two garden beds and only grow a few different plants: Tomatoes, herbs, and salad greens.
In the past few months, we haven’t had to purchase any of these things!
Our garden’s output has far, far exceeded our expectations. As a result, we buy fewer groceries.
We moved from an act of consumption to an act of production.
We also reduced our food waste because we’re only picking and using what we need each day. That feels good.
Lesson 4: Gardening is a gateway to simpler, more mindful living.
With our gardening hobby, we have learned new ways of practicing self-care. We were forced to slow down and learn patience. We are saving money and buying fewer groceries. We’ve reduced our food waste.
But perhaps the biggest observation is how small acts can lead to big transformation and measurable progress.
In this way, gardening has inspired us to try other things.
- We tried baking bread from scratch. Turns out it’s easy! And cheap.
- We started composting. It’s also easy, and it has reduced our waste even more.
- We started learning how to repair and hem clothes rather than purchasing new items. We’re consuming less.
Final thoughts
These are the things I learned with my first year of vegetable gardening. If you’re thinking about trying to grow your own food, I hope this will inspire you to give it a try!
