Garden Of Green

2020 was an interesting year to say the least. I got a potentially deadly virus, I lost my job, I hit rock bottom and nothing could get worse.

With my birthday falling in May I thought I’d try something new. For the first time ever I decided to smoke marijuana. I found a drug dealer on a dating site, messaged her, and went to her apartment to buy drugs(great life choices being made here).

I was told the prices of nickels, dimes, quarters and thought to myself “Damn how do weed heads afford this weekly?” I bought two quarters of 2 different strains Holy Grail and White Alien Fire since they sounded fun. After leaving though I decided I’ll never buy weed at these prices again.

I rolled and smoked my first ever blunt and finally understood why this stuff is great. My pain was gone, my ADD was in check, but most importantly I could sleep. Something that wasn’t easy for me before, but next to impossible during a pandemic.

I knew I couldn’t afford marijuana every week, but I knew I had to make it a part of my life. So I did what any sane cheap millennial would do. I went on a shady European website and bought cannabis seeds. My goal was to just plant my own seeds and grow my own THC to save money.

Summer of 2020 I really put my green thumb to the test. I arrogantly planted 6 seeds at once thinking I was gardening royalty. Sadly they died within a week. I wasn’t defeated though and I was determined to grow at least 4 plants of cannabis. I began to study life cycles, yields, harvesting, humidity levels to the point where I felt as if I was ready to regrow. The studying and preparation did more for me than I expected. I was no longer anxious despite the pandemic as gardening had secretly become a hobby.

As my cannabis plants grew on my roof I went in my backyard for once. I texted my landlord asking if it’d be ok if I started a garden back there to which she gave her blessing. It seemed that every day I was at the gardening store buying tools, dirt, pots, seeds whatever I felt I needed to start this venture.

Suddenly all my thoughts of catching covid or losing someone close to me went away. Every day I’d check on my plants making sure they weren’t under-watered or looking dry. The peace and tranquillity that entered my body when I stepped into the garden could never be duplicated. It’s as if I entered a different dimension. It’s almost as if I created a world that couldn’t hurt me.

That summer in addition to my cannabis I also planted rosemary, basil, oregano, and mint. Not to brag but they turned out well. I felt accomplished, and I knew my anxiety from the pandemic had basically diminished. Funny enough I didn’t even need cannabis anymore because gardening brought me a peace that I hadn’t felt in a while.

After taking care of my garden for 3 months it was finally time to harvest. I made pizza sauce with the oregano and basil I planted. Also made a rosemary pasta. However the main thing I was proud of was my cannabis plants. The whole reason I took up gardening for the summer anyway. My strains were honey peach, girl scout cookies, white widow, and blue dream. Overall I was highly impressed by my green thumb and knew that gardening was something that could potentially give me peace in my older years.

Towards the end of summer I realized it wasn’t about the way cannabis made me feel or how good my pizza sauce tasted. It was about what gardening did for my psyche. I knew this had become a lifelong hobby that would help me get through life’s struggles. Even though 2020 was chaotic, I thank 2020 for bringing gardening into my life.