{ The beauty in gardening }

Life begins the day you start a garden. 

– Chinese proverb

Have you ever stopped to think about the beauty in so many tasks around us?

I mean, ok, we look at certain tasks as work and don't quite think of them as beautiful or fun to do, but I find that some are so good for the soul.  They relax you, andthey have a way of calming your heart and thoughts.

Crochet is one of those for me, so is baking, and reading and so on, but another that I didn't quite get to start enjoying until much later in my life, has been gardening and anything to do with planting.

Whether outside touching digging your hand into the actual dirt on the ground, or pottering around with containers inside your home. 

Gardening adds years to your life and life to your years.

 – Unknown

My daughters work had a huge sale, 50% off pretty much everything, and knowing that I love gardening and growing my own veggies, fruit, herbs and flowers, she grabbed a few goodies for me.

She is sweet like that.  :)

As you can see above, I got Kitchen Herbs which came with parsley, basil and chives.  Lavender and Chamomile, Daisies and Strawberries, Lavender and some Thyme (the thyme is not pictured because she had gifted it to be a few days prior to this photo).

I got everything set up on the kitchen island and then got right to business.

If you've never tried these little kits, they are the perfect way to get started with your gardening journey.  They provide everything you need and come with clear instructions to help you get going.

I have to say, I used to be so scared of growing anything because anytime I tried, it died.  I either over watered, under watered, didn't place it in the right window, gave it too much sun or not enough.  It was a bit frustrating, but I learned along the way that a little research on each plant, goes a long way.

Gardening simply does not allow one to be mentally old, because too many hopes and dreams are yet to be realized.

 – Allan Armitage

It is so calming.  I put on some worship music in the background and just pottered around for a while.  It didn't take very long to get all the seeds started and in their containers. 

I also took some wooden sticks and labeled each so I would know what exactly was growing.  As you get used to planting there are some that you immediately recognize, but I'm not quite to the point where I know each and every single plant I am growing, just by looking at their leaves.

They've all been put on my kitchen window sill which seems to be a favorite spot for all my plants.  It is a part of the house that doesn't get direct sunshine, but plenty of light.

They seem to thrive there and pretty quickly start growing.

In the outside garden, life is springing up in a rush.  My Zucchini plants are huge, and I mean HUGE.

My tomato plants are equally growing in leaps and bounds, and the same goes for the beans, potatoes, basil, leeks and green onions. 

I don't think my lettuce survived and neither did my okra, or at least not that I can see, truth be told I can't even find it.  We have such high winds at times that I plant things and they sometimes get thrown around and start growing in different areas.  Hahaha

Nonetheless, I am finding such peace in my gardening, whether outside or in.  There is a special joy in watching something you plant start to grow.

How are your gardens doing?