Garden Work

R

Recently someone accused me of wasting time in my garden.  They said it wasn't hard work, that it was a place to hide out from problems and didn't have any component of exercising, this gardening stuff.  Essentially,  this person was saying that it wasn't a "productive" endeavor.  And I've been thinking about this statement a lot recently.

I have lifted heavy stones, dug trenches, laid bricks, carried 25 pound bags of dirt, after 25 pound bags of dirt blocks from a parking space to the garden, pounded trellises into the ground, dug deep holes, walked the length of the garden 10 times to get the water pressure right, graded a plot, built boxes and cubby holes, bent, twisted, and sweated all the while doing a crazy dance to shoo away bees and shake off ants.  A silly little app on my iphone says that 2 hours in the garden can burn almost 600 calories;   Two hundred less than moderate hiking and half as much as bicycling at a moderate rate. But more than 2 hours of golfing or guitar playing.  Or so says the app. 

And yes, I have lost four hours at a time there working, watering, and talking to gardeners and wanna be gardeners who stroll through the gates asking questions.  And sometimes being there gives me the space away from others and sometimes it gives people I love space away from me.  Sometimes the four hours spent there is on purpose for just that reason.  And sometimes it is because I am gloriously covered in dirt and sweat and lost in the work....

And maybe this isn't exactly a "productive" result - a small pitcher of violets, for instance.  But, it pleases me and that should be reason enough to support the gardener in your life.