I Garden because I am



Mary Ann Newcomer, of "Gardens of the Wild Wild West", is putting on a contest to find out why people garden, and more to the point, why do we keep on gardening. For me, the answer to that question is simple. I garden because I am. That probably sounds strange, so I will elaborate:

I garden because I am "a naturalist".
I am a lover of all things in nature, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. Mother Nature is my idol.

I garden because I am "a scientist".
I love to experiment, in the garden, in my businesses, in the world we live in. If you don't fail, you will never succeed.

I garden because I am "an artist".
I love colors, textures, shadows, materials, combinations. Gardening provides me with the ultimate palette for creativity.

I garden because I am "an environmentalist".
I vow to protect the waters, air, land and earth to the best of my abilities.

I garden because I am "a teacher".
I love to teach others about the wonders of gardening and nature, about photography, about soils, bugs and creepy crawlies.

I garden because I am “a botanist”.
I love to explore the world of plants.

I garden because I am “a photographer”.
Gardens and nature are always changing, and allow me countless vignettes to choose from.

I garden because I am "a designer".
I love the challenge of creating something beautiful and useful. Designing comes naturally to me, in many different forms, from Software to Web to Gardens to Life.

I garden because I am "an engineer".
I love to research, to build things, and to solve problems.

I garden because I am “a life long learner”.
Even after gardening for more than 40 years, I still have much to learn.

I garden because I am "blessed".
I live in an absolutely beautiful place, with mountains, clean air, lots of wildlife, and wonderful possibilities for plants. And, I have a family who puts up with all of my gardening obsessions.

I garden because I am "alive".
What more can I say?

Comments

  1. Beautiful Kathy! You said it so well. I have to say that most of the reasons you mentioned are the same for me.

    Hope you have a great holiday season and stay warm!

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  2. Hi, just visiting from Blotanical.
    I really enjoy this post.
    I garden because I am.
    To me, I garden because I can.

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  3. Kathy, I don't know if it could be said better.You answered the queston so well, there is nothing to add. Just great!

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  4. What a lovely way to answer. No one could've put it in a better way!:) I agree with all the reasons/points!

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  5. Fantastic answers. I agree with all my heart.

    Have a nice weekend
    Gunilla/Northen Lights Garden, Sweden

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  6. Utterly beautiful and powerful Kathy. Perfect! What a unique combination of characteristics, interests, passions and concerns in one person. Would there were more people ... especially leaders in our world ... like you. You might add clever to that list, as you certainly are in answering a question. Carol

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  7. I hadn't thought about being an engineer and scientist in the garden. Very creative. And I definitely agree with the blessed part, my family puts up with my obsession, too.

    CB in Alaska

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  8. I add my complete agreement with Kathy's reasons and Carol's comments! Bravo to both of you!
    And I have a question for you, Kathy. How did you get the widget for the National Wildlife Cert. Yard? I actually called them up to ask how to get one and they told me (about 6 weeks ago) that they didn't HAVE one!!! My yard has been certified for years, and I wanted to put a post and a widget on my blog. ??

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  9. Thanks everyone for the great show of support and kind comments! I am so glad to see that others feel as I do about gardening. I know that from reading your blogs you are all true gardeners in every sense of the word.

    Carol, thank you so much for thinking I am special! I think that I am diverse in what I want in life, sometimes too much so. But, as we all do, I try my best to do what is right and I am very "persistent" (some would say stubborn) when it comes to doing what I believe in.

    CB - I really am an Engineer and Scientist, which in many ways helps me to be a better gardener.

    Sue - I "made" the widget by searching on Google for the image. Type in "Certified Wildlife Habitat" under images and the first image that comes up will be the sign. I have a program, Snagit, which I used to crop out the image. Then I added it to my sidebar with a link in the image to the nwf.org's wildlife habitat page. Hope that helps!

    I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season, and Happy Winter Solstice day to all!

    Kathy

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  10. I really like your approach to the essay--nicely conceived and written! And most people think we're just gardeners :)

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  11. Wow, I don't think you left me much to say Kathy. You want me to write about why I garden? I don't think I am as eloquent about it as you are, at least not a sleep-deprived Thursday in February. Just wait until spring though...

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