From Seed to Serenity: Our Top 5 Benefits of Cultivating a Garden

Hello, and welcome to the eyeballs that are reading the first-ever blog post from Seed A Smile! I found that I really do have a lot to share, and often, I’d sit down to write a caption and find myself backspacing half of the bloomin’ thing because the whole idea of Instagram is for quick information. I’m not quick. I don’t deliver things in a quick manner, and I truly believe the best things take a lot more time and a lot more watering. Just like a garden.

Owner Karlee, picking from her current Vegie patch. She may not have a lot of space, but she hasn't let that stop her!

It’s easy to plant seeds, but what isn’t so easy is that chapter after you’ve started. The bit when you’re waiting for the seeds to sprout. There’s little to no action happening, and all you’ve got to lean on is your hope for the future.

If you ask me, we’re getting really bad at flexing that muscle of determination and patience. It would be quicker just to google an answer, or rather, just grab some carrots from the store. But let me tell you why you shouldn’t. I want to tell you why we need a garden. Because gardens ultimately slow us down. It brings us back to the pace where everything should happen. Back to the pace that’s set by the sun.

And at that slow and steady sprouting pace, there are 5 big reasons having a garden is important:

Eat More Fresh Food:

I could unpack all of the reasons why that one is good for you, but you know it already. But for those that haven’t grown their own food in a little while, I want to paint the following picture. The trip from the kitchen to the vegie patch. While the little path from your door to the garden would already be well-traveled, after all, you’ve been tending to it for some time now… I want to highlight the difference in that meander from the kitchen to the garden. You’re in your kitchen, about to prepare dinner, and while every other ingredient is kept in its usual places, a feeling of excitement adorns you when you ‘need to get some lettuce from the garden.’ The excitement that rushes through your hands as it reaches for the bowl, and the pride that begins to seep into every step as you walk toward your own garden, a product of your own love, to harvest your food.

Now that, that feel is what I call Fresh. It’s part of the reason why it tastes so good too. Great Form of Exercise

I’ve not long ago undergone a hip replacement, and I probably would have rolled my eyes if someone told me that gardening is a ‘great form of exercise.’ But now, I’ll confidently tell you, it really is. My compromised hips really proved just how much movement goes into tending your garden. I think one of the most brilliant things about it is that this exercise feels so good. It’s natural for our bodies to bend, kneel, squat, pull, dig, and push. Our bodies had to do this for survival, and there really is something primal about crouching into your garden and trying to pull a deeply rooted plant while in an awkward squat. There really isn’t a machine at the gym that can truly emulate that. Just get out in your garden.

Visually Rewarding

Have you ever met someone that doesn’t like the color green? I doubt it. It’s the most beautiful color, it’s the most natural color. It goes with everything, and it’s the most beautiful color to have adorn your homes. Grow a garden. While you’re at it, be sure to plant flowers, not just vegetables, edible flowers, double points! I used to only reserve my gardening real estate and energy for herbs and vegetables, well, my friends, you know what else people undeniably love… flowers. Make sure you grow flowers. And make sure you regularly harvest your flowers and adorn your desk and dining table with your garden’s jewels.

Tiny little blooms from our Seed A Smile, Build your Own Box

Improves Mental Health

You need to live with purpose, and if some days, that’s purely to garden, then do it, and do it well. Gardens are to be cultivated and looked after, so is your mind. The above-mentioned rewards all aid in improving our mental health, be it exercise, time outside, a sense of achievement, or simply putting freshly picked flowers in a vase on your desk. Having a garden directly correlates with positive mental health.

Connects You with Nature:

Of course, when your hands are in the dirt, you’re connected with nature. But, to work with the sun and plant in the right months, and water on hot days, connects you with source. We simply weren’t built to not be growing our own food, living indoors or staring at screens.

In fact, that’s enough for me for one day. I best be off to the garden! 🌱