Small Space Garden

There is something so beautiful about a garden. Whether it is a garden of flowers intentional for beauty or a garden that is beautiful that will eventually produce food. Have you ever looked outside at the beauty of nature and just had your breath taken away? How beautiful the leaves on trees look swaying in the wind, how the sunlight just seems to dance off the leaves of plants while butterflies and bees bounce on top the branches pollinating them. In the morning , as the sun comes up, I love to just look out and see the dew shining like diamonds on the plants as the sunlight begins to touch it, I love to see how alive everything looks, ready for the day ahead, the flowers open up and the plants begin reaching for the sun as the night turns to day. When I began my journey to grow my own food, it was very much powered by the drive to eat food that tasted the way it should. If you have ever grown your own food you will know what I am talking about. The store bought fruits and vegetables not only provide less nutrients and unknown chemicals or pesticides but they also provide much less flavor. In the beginning of this journey, I also wanted beauty in my small urban yard. I needed to be able to trust that what I was eating was not hindered in anyway with growth hormones or harmful pesticides. I knew I could achieve all those things by growing it myself. What I did not expect was to gain healing. I am sure many of you have heard of gardening being a way to mend anxiety and depression, as did I, but did any of you believe it? I sure didn't. When you battle anxiety and depression on a day to day balance it is hard to believe anything that is going to require so much of your time and energy could do anything but cause more anxiety and in turn more depression. Waking up is a task all on its own, making yourself go to work, or to the store or even to visit a friend or family member is so grueling, so how could adding more responsibility not do more harm then good? While I have no idea how it did it, I can stand to testify that it certainly did more good than harm. And yes, it is not a miracle answer and it may not help everyone, and I definitely had and still have days where I am bogged down by the depression and anxiety and unable to get out to the garden. However, for the most part, having this garden has provided me something to look forward to, something to bring a smile to my face when it seems impossible, something to focus on when my anxiety is doing its very best to make me focus on all that is wrong around me. A quiet place to go, free of judgment and free of pain.

While I am still in the learning stages of learning how to grow my own food, and in the dreaming stages of getting to someday have a homestead of my own, I would love to invite you to join me on this journey. Even if you live in an apartment there are still things you can do to grow food of your own. Whether you have anxiety and depression, a desire to grow your own food for any reasons, I would love to share tips and tricks with you I learn along the way and I would love to hear your tips a tricks too. We go further in this life when we do things together. I will also be sharing photos and tips on my Instagram and Twitter accounts as well under Garden4Solace. So, also check those out and share in this journey with me.