More in a garden grows...

I was planning a post on Tabasco peppers tonight, but then I started looking at garden signs on Pinterest and I saw one with the following quote that really resonated with me.

"More in a garden grows than what the gardener sows."

                                                               Old Spanish Proverb

Last weekend, my neighbor came over and commented on how much I had gotten done in the garden lately and how hard I was working (especially since it was close to 100 degrees at the time).  It was spoken as a compliment, but the look on his face implied that he thought I was maybe a little crazy.  I just shrugged my shoulders and said "It makes me happy."

Truer words have not been spoken.  The other day, I posted a detailed list of what's planted in my garden.  But there is so much more to it than plants and dirt and mulch.  There are things growing now  that I had no idea were planted.  Things you can't see but you can feel.  The fruits and vegetables that I grow feed my stomach, but the other things feed my soul. 

Here are some of the things I've recently "harvested":

Diligence.  So many times, I have gone into the garden with the weight of the world on my shoulders and a To Do list a mile long.  So many times, I have left, sweaty and stinky, covered in dirt and moo poo (as we like to call composted manure), barely able to find the strength to slide open the back door but completely, exhaustedly, happy.  Life is a series of distractions and I have learned that the only way some things get done is by putting all my effort and concentration into the task at hand.  By doing so, everything else is pushed from my mind and I can just live in the moment.  It's very simplistic, but forceful.

Patience.  I am someone who fully embraces the concept of instant gratification, and, despite that, I have planted a tree and gave it food and pruned it, knowing full well that I would not be able to taste its fruit for at least a couple of years...years!  Waiting for something to happen, in the garden, in the kitchen, in life can be excruciating.  Sometimes we focus so much on the waiting that we miss what's going on now.  Most times, the act of waiting makes the end result so much sweeter.

Hope.  This garden is a reminder that with hard work, patience, a lot of nurturing and a little luck, I will be rewarded with happy, healthy plants that will provide for me all the nourishment I need.  The same can be said for many things in life and, that, for me, is hope.

Even more than becoming self-reliant or saving money on the grocery bill, I believe the emotional gains of gardening and "tending the land" are the driving forces behind the homesteading revolution we are experiencing. 

This world is a crazy place and, it seems, it's only getting crazier.  Gardening keeps me from focusing too much on that.  Gardening keeps me grounded (pun intended).  Gardening, makes me happy.  

So the next time you watch the news (or the VMAs, for that matter) and wonder "what the hell is going on in this world?", go out into the garden (or start one), get sweaty and start feeding your soul.  It will make your world, and the world around you, a better place.

Thanks for reading,

Jen