DIY Network

Gardening is Good for the Sole

Master gardener Joe Lamp'l, host of Fresh from the Garden, discusses the advantages of gardening alone.

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Gardening can be rewarding even when done alone. But sometimes the best gardening experience is when you contribute to a bigger cause, sharing your efforts and talents with a group--all sharing a common goal.

Gardening a job for the Lone Ranger

By Joe Lamp'l

Gardening is one of those activities that is just as rewarding when alone as it is when shared with someone else or when you join with others to share a common goal.

As long as I have the chance to garden, I'm just as happy doing it by myself as I am in a large group. Call me a loner, but honestly, I enjoy working in the garden alone, just me and my plants (and weeds, there are always weeds).

How often do you hear how therapeutic gardening is for the mind, body and soul? I've often said it to myself.

If you love gardening, too, you know exactly what I mean. The simple act of getting your hands dirty can provide hours of pleasure and entertainment. No agenda is necessary, and there is no one around that requires entertaining. The energy used to speak is replaced with the opportunity to listen, to think and to observe.

Sometimes the work is light,and nothing really screams out for our attention. And those times are worth relishing, too, even if they are few and far between. More often, I find that with so little time to actually spend in my garden, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of maintenance required--weeding, pruning and simple cleanup included.

As I've matured as a gardener I've even learned to see past all the messes as problems and to view them as opportunities. Now I celebrate the accomplishments when, in a few short weeks, a neglected garden shapes up into something of which to be proud.

On those days when it's more work intensive, I simply put on my blinders and go to work. I've learned to "eat the elephant one bite at a time." Even gardeners like instant gratification. I get it by focusing on one particular area or task and staying with it. I see progress and become encouraged. I get on a roll as I tackle that project, and when finished, move on to the next.

After several hours that seem like only several minutes, I am invigorated. No doubt, I'm tired, but it's that good tired you get from doing something productive that you thoroughly enjoy. Even in the midst of focused intensity, the solitude allows me to really hear the birds, see the plants in a different way and smell the sweet scent of the earth once again.

So, as for the solo opportunities to spend time in my garden, or in any garden for that matter, I have learned to relish them. From a simple stroll with my morning coffee to a round of weeding in the afternoon sunshine, it is never really "work" to me. And I'd tell you not to tell my wife about that, but I suspect she already knows how I feel.

(Joe Lamp'l, a master gardener, hosts DIY's Fresh from the Garden as well as a gardening radio show. For more information, visit www.joegardener.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)

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