After a day of planting the garden, I was heading
for the house, looking forward to a hot shower, when I glanced at the trellis
of sugar snap peas and remembered one other task. Harvesting peas.
I didn't think I had any energy left but just a few moments
among the vines, their delicate yet strong tendrils winding up the net, their
pink and white flowers transforming into fruits, and I felt revived. My fingers
brushed their rubbery leaves before moving to the pods, quickly filling up my
other hand with the harvest. The aroma of strawberries drifted from a patch
behind me.
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| Pea tendril at M R Gardens - by Vickie Burick |
When I need a lift, the garden entices my senses. When I
need to burn off nervous energy, the garden asks for my hard work. When I need
to settle down, the garden invites me for barefoot walks on dew-covered clover.
When I need to learn, the garden gives me the right challenge. When I need
inspiration, the garden provides the setting to unlock my creativity.
This summer, I'm writing a series about the advantages of
edible landscaping. The aspect that fuels my daily motivation most is the
health benefit. Nutritious food, physical activity and time spent outdoors most
immediately come to mind. But just scratch the surface and we find other
benefits with much deeper roots.
More nutrients and
probiotics
According to studies, garden fare tends to have a higher nutrient content than store-bought produce. A hypothesis for why this is true
is that modern varieties are bred and selected for traits desirable for mass
production. Heirloom vegetables that we can grow in our home gardens may not
ship and store well but likely have higher nutritional levels.
In a small scale-garden, it's easy to build soil so that
plants can better access nutrients. My style of Microbe Rich (M R) no-till gardening encourages a healthy ecosystem of beneficial microorganisms that
break down the soil and turn nutrients into a form that plants can uptake.
These nutrients help the plants grow healthy and feed the fruits, which then
fuel us.
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| Planting at M R Gardens - by Vickie Burick |
Additionally, studies show the importance of simply touching the soil. When we come in contact with certain types of beneficial bacteria, we
experience increases in serotonin, which lifts mood and helps with memory
function. Getting our hands in the soil also encourages probiotics to enter our
bodies. Just as the soil needs a balance of "good" and
"bad" microorganisms, so do our guts.
Better eating habits
When healthy food is growing out our back door—food that we
invested time to grow ourselves—we're encouraged to adjust our routines to make
sure we eat it. We look for recipes for what's in season. We cook with new
types of vegetables or try ones we thought we didn't like only to find we do if
it's fresh and grown well.
We can also grow the types of plants that are suited for our
unique disposition, whether that be spinach or a medicinal herb. With the
garden central to my life, I feel like my health improves as I age. I'm eating
food that, before edible landscaping, I had never even heard of. Like goumis,
a nitrogen-fixing shrub, with fruits high in vitamin A and E as well as lycopene,
an antioxidant.
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| Goumi berries at M R Gardens |
Moving around the
garden
Time and again I have benefited from the therapeutic quality
of garden work. Even tasks like mulching and digging can be meditative, as superfluous
thoughts leave my mind. I feel cleansed after a day in the garden, and my sleep
is sound.
The movement of shoveling, squatting and bustling around encourages
the flow of the lymphatic system, essential for healthy immune function.
Lymphatic fluid, circulating throughout our cells, picks up and transports away
toxins and infectious organisms. In the winter, when I'm not gardening as much,
my stagnant neck muscles are more likely to cause pain than when I'm moving
them often.
Connection with
plants—and our food supply
When I'm slicing vegetables for dinner, I'm remembering how
they first started as a seed. That makes me more thankful than when I buy them
from the store. My gratefulness continues as I eat, encouraging me to chew
slowly, promoting better digestion.
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| Snow peas at M R Gardens |
Herbalists say we feel the healing effects of herbs by just
being around the plants, whether or not we're tincturing them or making teas.
When herbalists prepare medicine, they carry a nurturing air so that healing
energy transfers to the medicine.
I believe the same can be said for how our food is grown. In
a therapeutic gardening situation, we're more likely to carry a gentle,
appreciative essence as we work than say, an overworked, underpaid farmworker
might. Whoever eats our food may taste a hint of that experience.
Never-ending growing
and learning
As a once avid traveler, I relate to those who go to the
other side of the world seeking life's answers. Yet time and again I think to
myself, I have my own Nepal right in my backyard. Gardening will teach you
whatever lessons you are meant to learn. Maybe it's patience. Maybe it's
relaxation. Maybe it's a heightened understanding of the way the world works. Even
if you're not asking, the garden will provide what's most needed.
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This article was published in the July 2015 issue of WNC Woman.
