Gardening for a lifetime.

With more time available, I’ve been gardening more than I’ve done in a very long time. And with my intentions for a long, energetic life, I intend to keep doing it for a very long time. That’s why the quote from William Kent struck a chord with me.

Garden as though you will live forever.

I like that attitude. The quote was shared with me by a very avid gardener friend. Bonnie has always loved gardening, and for years in the tiny backyard where she and her husband lived, she planted all sorts of interesting and beautiful plants. But several years ago life changed significantly for her. Her husband died suddenly in a work-related accident. Over the course of the next year Bonnie grieved, but she eventually emerged from her sorrow to establish a new life alone — but with a big, new beautiful garden.

She purchased a different home that came with a ready made garden that needed a redo only she could do. In this age of COVID, Bonnie believes that garden saved her. If she isn’t inside planning her next steps in the garden layout, she is outside weeding, planting and simply enjoying the fruits of her labor. For her, the garden is life-giving and lengthening.

I couldn’t agree more. That’s why I appreciated the 100 hosta plants she gave me for my flower garden. I dug into the planting with gardening gusto.

Thanks to plenty of exercise and vigorous work in the garden, my physical stamina is pretty darn good for age 70. So I keep at it because I believe it keeps me strong. Sure there will come a time when I’ll have to adapt to less strenuous work, maybe even hiring some parttime help like Bonnie does. I’ll no doubt take some lessons from a book I recently came across: “Gardening for a Lifetime” by Sydney Edison. I’ve not read it yet, but it will provide sage advice as I progress in my lifetime of gardening.

There is something so life-affirming and hopeful to plant a seed in the ground, see it emerge from the soil and nurture it along. The end result is equally satisfying, particularly if you can eat it. I was overjoyed in finally getting a decent tomato crop and carrying it full circle to several jars of tomato sauce I’ll be savoring this winter.

Gardening adds years to my life, literally, through the physical exercise all the way to the nutritional value of eating fresh vegetables straight from the garden.

And it certainly adds life to our years.