• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Home Garden Companion

Home Garden Companion

Ilona's Garden Journal

  • Plant Library On The Journal
    • All Season Garden Color
    • Sitemap
  • Garden chores
    • Essential Garden Tools For Beginners
    • Garden Tips and Advice
  • Ilona’s Garden Home
    • Old House Blog
    • Garden Librarian
  • Ilona’s Garden Flavor Shop
  • Privacy Policy

Why A Gardener Loves Slavery To A Garden

20.11.07 | Ilona Erwin | 1 Comment


Is there such a thing as maintenance free gardening? No. Is there such a thing as easy gardening? No. Is gardening hard physical labor? Sure is…. so why do it? Why expend all that effort?

Because of love. That’s right, we are love-slaves to our gardens.

It is because of the many things that a garden can satisfy within us that we gladly serve it. A closeness with the earth… there is no place where you can intimately know things about nature more than in a gardened place. It satisfies the curiosity to observe the seasons, the life cycles of insects and birds…sometimes other visiting animals, and the ever changing panoply of the plants themselves. It connects you with something larger than yourself, and teaches you about lessons that man-made life leaves out: that we don’t have all the control. That alone is worth the price of admission to the gardened life.

Then there is creativity and beauty. As humans we long for beauty, our eyes are never satiated with enough beauty, and our souls long for creative pursuits. The garden is filled with both. And often in a forgiving way. The surprise of the serendipitous matching of plants in bloom and vigor, the accidental perfection of the whim of natures wind blown seed… we pair with an unseen hand in moments of rapturous scent and sight. It can happen in a garden.

The wonder of life. It is rampant in the garden, and we can’t escape the amazing seed time and harvest cycles, the immense power of seedlings come to life, becoming full grown with bloom and giving us flower and fruit. We are amazed at our own part in it all, and humbled at the same time.

We become scientific with charts and pH readings, and techniques. We become artists with color schemes and shapes and contrasts. We become nurturers, and culinary masters… with only a well grown tomato or succulent strawberry. We are the clucking mothers of little plants, and the protective fathers of our vegetable plots. We are judges of the best, the mavens of our flowering borders, and children in awe of how Wonderful our world is.

…and that is why we will dig, and haul, turn, and cover, uproot, and weed, plant and fertilize, and all the many many labors that we render to our little gardened portions of the world. Slaves, but never more free than this!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

← Previous Post
Thanksgiving Time
Next Post →
An Indian Summer Thanksgiving

About Ilona Erwin

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

DISCLOSURE: I may be an affiliate for products that I recommend. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Thank you, in advance for your support! Privacy Policy

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kylee says

    November 21, 2007 at 1:08 am

    Ilona, this might just possibly be the best blog post ever written by a gardener. I don’t think you could have expressed what we feel and do any better.

Primary Sidebar

Oh, hi there!

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

Newest Postings Here

  • Hawaiian Flower Arrangements
  • HELLLOOOO, From The Other Side
  • February Gardening, Last of Winter in the Flower Garden
  • Compilation of Past Mini-Posts of 2003
  • Wayback in Ilona Garden Time

Visit for a Spell

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Mission

Finding your way home via the garden path

Books, Tools, Tips

Read reviews from the GardenLibarian

Portrait of a Gardener

gardener musings
Musings

What’s Wrong With Today’s Gardening?

Modern gardening
What Is Wrong?

Garden Journal

fine garden journal
Journal, Planner and Log Book
buy quality plants

You might also like

seeds

National Seed Swap Day in January

Garden advice

What Makes a Low Maintenance Garden?

Create A Child’s Garden, Grow Love For Nature

Growing Indoor Flowers In December

I Found Out About “She Sheds” And Coincidentally, About Friends

Newest Postings Here

  • Hawaiian Flower Arrangements
  • HELLLOOOO, From The Other Side
  • February Gardening, Last of Winter in the Flower Garden
  • Compilation of Past Mini-Posts of 2003
  • Wayback in Ilona Garden Time

Books, Tools, Tips

Read reviews from the GardenLibarian

Standouts

10 Useful Gardening Tips For Spring

Do You Grow Herbs? 10 Reasons To Love Them

10 Cool Season Annual Flowers To Plant

Standouts

August Gardening: Ten Suggestions

What are your ten top choices for perennial plantings?

ilonagarden

With village lights With village lights
Christmas decor #christmasspirit🎄 Christmas decor #christmasspirit🎄
Instagram post 17935013548845771 Instagram post 17935013548845771
Instagram post 17981374354427684 Instagram post 17981374354427684
Instagram post 17865517706595888 Instagram post 17865517706595888
Gift of flowers by my bedside Gift of flowers by my bedside
#mockorange #juneflowers #ohio #mockorange #juneflowers #ohio
Instagram post 18224713828022497 Instagram post 18224713828022497
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Join Me

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 · Your Site Name

Hazel Theme by Code + Coconut