I’ve been gardening for a long time. When I was four or five years old, I had a small planter that was shaped like a deer where I planted pansies, in high school I grew swiss chard and purple carrots, and I’ve been nursing a little jade plant and a large split-leaf philodendron for two years now.
Vegetable gardens are so appealing to me – it’s all the great things about gardening, with the added benefit of getting to eat the outcomes of your effort.
When social distancing started, I decided that this was my year to go all out on a vegetable garden. I ordered some seeds online, and got some containers to plant in. I decided to grow peppers, basil, broccoli, spinach, and ground cherries. That expanded to include watermelon, arugula, cilantro, dill, cucumbers, swiss chard, sweet potato, green onion and zucchini.
My garden has become such an amazing source of peace for me during this pandemic. I wake up every morning excited to go in the backyard to check on the garden, to water everything and check on my plants. I’m excited to do things like thin out my pepper plants, and I’m feeling so accomplished with all of it. This zucchini that’s growing all over the place? That was just a packet of seeds five weeks ago. I made that happen with sunlight and water and dirt.
It feels like it’s my own glimmer of hope – yes, there are terrifying things happening, but I can still make new things and create something that brings me joy, in the midst of everything.