Why do you garden?

[OrchidFan]

Hello

I got my first garden this year so am new to it. The main thing I like is just learning something new. I basically like taking notes when reading/watching TV!

I'm less into actually spending hours digging/pruning etc!

Why do you do it?

Because otherwise it looks like a piece of overgrown shit. I have no interest in gardening.

Gardening is my exploration. I live to try different plants. Always changing plants. I do like veggies home grown. Just feel free to try and find your unique gardening style

I absolutely love plants. I find them endlessly fascinating and beautiful. In order to have them in my garden I have to garden 😂

Because if you don't your garden won't have hardly any pretty plants or flowers in it.

Watching things grow, nurturing them is extremely fulfilling. Every day you can go and look at the plants and see something new has flowered or grown. It's kind of addictive.

I started getting into it about ten years ago, but it's really ramped up now I've got loads of plants and know more about what to plant where and when.

Because:
I find it both relaxing and good exercise

growing things (especially edible stuff) from seed, or propagating plants, feels almost miraculous, even after 50 years of doing it

over the years, it’s provided me with a peace and a break from work, domestic drudgery, and annoying teenagers (I have an allotment as well so can get some physical distance from home

I like looking out of the house at a gorgeous space

i like the idea of caring for my little corner of the planet.

Thanks everyone, this is so lovely!

I moved to a place with a garden mostly for my cat's benefit but the bonus is I've found myself a wee hobby! It was quite fun watching the bushes flower for the first time after I moved in and seeing what colour each one was. I have red, pink, orange yellow and white. Also a random bluebell!

I've decided I like blue flowers so will be experimenting with forget me nots, lavender and heather.

I love getting colour into the garden after a long dreary winter, and do my best to plant things that attract bees/butterflies. Love seeing my little patch colourful & buzzing with insects!

I always loved it. Getting your hands into soil calms you down. It's good exercise. It's beautiful. It's creative without being anxiety-provoking (no one is going to sneer if your garden is a pot of pansies on a windowsill). It puts you in touch with the seasons. It keeps you looking forward to lovely things for next year. It's a lovely thing to do with small children. Random people will talk to you about gardening. It's generous: you create a little bit of beauty for everyone. It's good for the environment.

Yes, I love the idea of bees etc - that's why I'm keen on wildflowers.

And yes, I do feel calmer just watching Gardener's World etc. As if all I have to worry about is slugs eating my begonias etc!

Agreed, I'm already looking forward to my Forget me Not plant hopefully flowering in spring next year (I grew it from seed this year on the windowsill). then planting the seeds outside and letting it self seed etc.

I love gardening, I love having a garden full of flowers and trees. People often stop to chat if I am in the front garden which is nice.

I like being able to support the wildlife, especially birds, bees and butterflies. I get great satisfaction from growing things from seeds or cuttings. Some of my plants get potted up and taken to a charity nearby to raise money.

It is good exercise, gets you outside in the fresh air and can really put things into perspective.

I love going out in spring and summer to see what is blooming and what I can pick for a vase or to eat. I grow a few herbs so can grab chives, sage, rosemary, parsley etc when needed . I like providing flowers for pollinators too .

i just can't imagine not gardening, I've been interested since I was a child, my grandparents were great gardeners and my mum has houseplants everywhere so it's just always been something I've done, I always had pot plants everywhere I've lived as an adult and have loved my gardens and for the past 15 years an allotment. I just find it so interesting and relaxing, I love talking to other people about gardening too.

the creative aspects- making something beautiful and knowing that you did it. It’s endlessly fascinating- new plants, new combinations and where they grow best. Growing food. So good to be outside.

I'm addicted I can't stop gardening, since I was a child I've had a compulsion to plant seeds and and talk to spiders. I also think I have a god-complex and love creating little worlds for the invertebrate inhabitants.

I can't not garden. My first memories are of growing veg and shelling peas in the garden with my grandfather and I have photos of me with a trowel in the soil from about two years old.

I have a garden, an allotment and was a gardener before I retired. Now I volunteer as a gardener for the National Trust in the most beautiful garden.

For me the pleasure is in being outdoors in nature, creating my own little world with wonderful plants. As I've got older gardening for nature has become my passion and I'm never happier than in my garden, cup of tea surrounded by bees, butterflies, bats, hedgehogs, birds and dragonflies.

I love seeing the transformation over the years and seasons and I encourage wildlife to visit through my choice of plants, hedgerow, trees, nesting boxes, a log and leaf pile, a pond and my latest addition of a hedgehog house.

Gardening is relaxing for me. The gentle, repetitive motions of weeding and pruning are a pleasant distraction from the fast pace life. Cutting the hedge or grass has instant gratification of the garden looking well maintained. Growing veg. and herbs reminds me of my childhood and tastes amazing. I think most of all, knowing I am caring for my little part of the earth makes me happy.

I have downloaded the Merlin app to identify birds visiting the bird baths and feeding station. It pleases me to see up to 8 different kinds in a short spell. The hedge gives them a safe shelter and seeing them pop in and out and sing for their supper makes me smile.

I think I find it mindful if that’s not too much of a wanky thing to say. When Im out in my garden Im very much in the moment. I also like the planning element and the leap of faith that if I plant these bulbs then maybe in spring I could be rewarded. I feel like it keeps me in touch with the seasons because I’m aware of what is growing and when, and I can see how the weather effects various plants,
I also find it very equalising, I can’t afford to do a lot with my house, it’s not a stunning period property, or a cute cottage I can’t get rid of my artex and most of the furniture is second hand but if I want a stunning garden then the earth is same as anyone else’s and the only ceiling is the sky and if I want to make it happen i can try.

I love it, growing plants from seeds, keeping plants alive and beautiful. I really needed something to busy my anxious brain and I can lose myself in gardening.

It's an extension of my home. It pains me when people don't see theirs as a space to make enjoyable and spend time in. I live somewhere with a lot of gardens of either plastic grass, or monoculture weeds (green alkanet, rye grass) with abandoned toys and garden furniture dumped in.
There are about 6 cats that come to hang out and nap in my garden because it's the only one that has little shelters (under rhubarb, the shade of a raised bed etc). It's lovely. Very few birds though 😅 but there are hardly any trees.

I don't love gardening itself but I love a nice garden and as I have no intention of paying someone to do something I can do perfectly well myself...... I garden.

I like how you can create a space that is entirely yours with plants that you have chosen, positioned, planted & nurtured.
Every garden is different. Neighbours on one side of us have just patio & lawn, the other side have patio, lawn, a raised border down one side & an abundance of pots. We on the other hand have a patio, lawn, tall hedge, lots of shrubs, pots and a couple of trees.
I love encouraging wildlife into my space and get great joy from watching the birds, butterfly's & bees who choose to spend time with me.
Ddogs love to sunbathe in the warm sun (unlike me!) and move from the paths onto the lawn and at other times, have a mooch around in the undergrowth (digging up what I dread to think!). When it is cool or wet, Ddogs love to sit on the sofa under the veranda and still enjoy being outside.
Best of all, when I look down my garden I can be in my own little world and forget everything outside of it.

I think plants are fascinating, they seem magic to me, they create flowers and fruit out of sunlight and air...

I love thinking about what different combinations of plants will look like together.

The first thing I do every morning is pop outside to check what's blooming.

It teaches me patience- challenging for me.

Gets me outside and moving.

My garden is like a grand art & science project. I love having a reason to get outside, do exercise which leads to something greater than myself and feeling connected with nature and the seasons. Propagation is my favourite part I get a huge thrill creating new plants for free. It’s a deep compulsion and I know I’m depressed when I CBA to garden.

I did an end of summer weed and sweep earlier and thought of you all!

Hehe! I thought of you all when I was planting my daffodil and crocus bulbs earlier!

I've bought some small heather plants - surely of all the plants that will thrive in Scotland, this is it! I've put 1 out the front (south facing) and 1 out the back (north facing) and we shall see which one does better!