To justify my new hobby, I came up with a rather unusual list of reasons. What do you think? Are these good enough reasons to take up gardening when you retire?
Gardening is good exercise. Wielding a rake, a hoe, and a shovel builds impressive biceps; squatting to plant, weed, and harvest improves flexibility and strengthens the legs; and chasing the birds and squirrels out of your tomatoes gets your heart rate up to an aerobic level.
Gardening leads to social networking through sharing tips, stories, seeds, and produce. This tip can be paired with Item #1 as chasing down a reluctant neighbor who really doesn’t want another bag of excess zucchini can increase your heart rate.
If you’re new at gardening, you can exercise your brain by learning how and when to plant, which end of the garlic bulb goes up, and how to pickle all that okra.
Gardening gets you outside and away from the “screens” – unless you are one of the newbies mentioned in Item #3. If so you’ll probably carry your cell phone with you in order to search pertinent topics like “what the heck is an okra seedling supposed to look like.”
Fresh produce is good for you – unless every recipe you use begins with “take a stick of butter.”
Gardening can save you money at the grocery store – but it can cost you money at the garden center, especially if the grasshoppers are bad this year or your squash and zucchini have mildew. It can also cost you money at the tractor supply if you buy a motorized tiller in which case scratch off some of the benefits of Item #1.
Gardening is a good excuse to go shopping for cute gardening outfits. Note that this further dilutes the benefits of Item #6.
On a more serious note, watching the miracle of growth can be spiritually uplifting.
Doing the hard work of gardening makes you appreciate what our ancestors went through and what some of those in third world countries are still going through just to scratch out a subsistence living.
And finally, if you’re still a kid at heart, gardening is a good excuse to dig in the dirt and play in the water.
Linda Brendle retired from the business world after 40 years of administration and sales in various industries. She cared for her mother and her father, both of whom suffered from dementia, for 15 years. Both her parents are at home with the Lord now, and she blogs about care-giving, faith and family at Life After Caregiving. She is also a contributor to Yahoo Voices, Red Letter Christians, Daily Burnsider, Assisted Living Directory, Soul Sitters and Don’t Lose Heart. You can find Linda on Facebook and on Twitter and you can reach her via email