reading this forum i read how others either talk about the work they put into their garden or the fun they have in setting up their garden. what do you feel that your garden is to you, work or fun? peace be with you and may your garden be yours.

I grow a garden because it is fun. One exceptionally busy year it felt like work because I didn't have enough time so I didn't plant one that fall (I live in North Central Florida) and I really missed not having my garden that season. I've had one ever since. I also noticed that now that my garden site is in better shape it takes less time/work thanks to lots of compost and weed pulling. I get such a great feeling cooking with veggies that I grew organically! I also love to go out and look at my garden every day, I notice subtle changes early in the growing cycle. Growing a garden just makes me grow!!

Work is a task, a chore, something that is best done quickly and get-it-over-with. Your typical "yard" with monocultural lawn, a few sad looking trees and the obligatory dusty millers.

Fun is a way to spend time in a satisfying manner. Gardening is healthy, good exercise, adds to property value, adds to the pleasure of living there.

Gardening is more than just fun, methinks. It is a rare contact with Nature. We need that.


John / Ecologicals

I have a vegetable garden in North Florida and to me it's all fun, I can't wait for sunrise each day to get out in the garden and get my hands in the soil and take care of all those great vegetables.

My garden is my place of peace and tranquility. I go there to be close to nature.I make sure that I plant a few rows of flowers in my garden. I love my plants,and I'm sure they can feel the vibrations,as i think to myself how beautiful they are. that is, no doubt, the reason that I am one of those lucky people that has a green thumb. Yes we really do need to get close to the earth. It seems to soothe the soul. I regard my work in the garden a pleasure.

My garden is my place of peace and tranquility. I go there to be close to nature.I make sure that I plant a few rows of flowers in my garden. I love my plants,and I'm sure they can feel the vibrations,as i think to myself how beautiful they are. that is, no doubt, the reason that I am one of those lucky people that has a green thumb. Yes we really do need to get close to the earth. It seems to soothe the soul. I regard my work in the garden a pleasure.

Hi, I love my garden, it is work at first, but it's a good kind of work, it regrounds me. It's a very peaceful place for me.
Angelswings

My garden is my pride and joy, my playground, my constantly-evolving science experiment. I love to be close to Mother Earth and all her wonderous creations. I love to work with her, and sometimes it's fun to see how far she will tolerate your experimentations. If you are respectful and kind to her, she will return the same to you. I love gardening because it keeps me green and growing.

It's nice to know there are people out there that think and feel the way you do.
My garden is my pease and my centering place.
I say thank you every day for what it gives me.
and OH those vegie all winter long.
Feather

For me, work & fun are just about the same thing. I LOVE to work physically hard; it's FUN!

Gardening organically IS hard work at times, but the rewards are so great physically,emotionally and psychologically that when you look back on it it was fun! I like hard work and knowing that when I'm through with a garden chore I will have something to show for it. That's very fun for me. It doesn't hurt to get positive feedback from friends and family when you share your bounty either!

Linda's response comes closest to my feelings - my garden, which tends to expand every year inspite of my plans not to, is the single most rewarding "work" I can imagine. I come down from the garden, drenched in sweat, exhausted, and smiling from ear to ear. The simple, yet profound joy of physical labor in close communion with the earth is truly remarkable. The added benefit of bringing "run out" land back to organic life is
quite special.

Eudamonia is the state of being happy through accomplishing or creating something.

I'm Pagan, which means that I worship the Earth and respect Her...yet at least fifty waking hours a week are surrounded by cement, brick, or a bus.

My garden is where I work to bring back to life the absolutely sterile soil on my property, improving the Earth. It is where I can bring something new into this world, rejoice each time a seedling comes up, bringing life to my space. The work and the joy are the same thing; my efforts are happiness.

It's a way to complete my circle of living, from my breath in to my breath out. It's a labor and a prayer, both the same.

Trying to feed two vegans a complete diet on a plot 16 by 25 feet in zone 5 (montreal) using only organic methods? This is work? The garden is my centre, my chill zone, my greatest challenge, my pride, my joy. My church.

Gardening is life.

For me its both. The garden pays the bills, it is what I do for a living so in that sense it is work. But I really like to garden so it is fun to do. But in the heat of a July afternoon when the weeds are tough and painful and there are 17 50' rows of tomatoes that need to be harvested and the same amount of beans plus a hundred other things that needed doing last week and your back hurts from bending and the chickens get out into the maters or lettuce and the tractor won't sytart and than a T-storm comes up and ruins things it becomes unreal work and all the romance of organic farming is thrown out the window.

Even than if i can take a minute to actually look at the garden in all its' glory I find a lot to be happy about