Gardening in the Time of Pandemic

I’m sure most of you who have gardens found in the last month how important they are in our Stay At Home new world. For me, the ability to go outside, get involved in projects, pick some fresh spinach and kale, watch the bees and butterflies visiting new flowers, or just lean back in the sun and watch the magnificent clouds floating by – is a welcome respite from being trapped indoors. I can go out and take pictures of beautiful plants and send them to friends and family. I share in the community with others who can’t be near physically at the moment.

What I enjoy the most is not being rushed. I’m no longer trying to fit all my gardening and outdoor chores into tiny fragments of time between the dozens of other things I used to do before the pandemic. Now, I can go out, work as long as I want, or as little as I want, with no pressure and lots of satisfaction. It is a beautiful time of the year to appreciate our yards and gardens.

We don’t really know how long this new way of life will last, but making the best of it while we’re in it could have long-lasting pluses for your landscape, home-gardening skills, and just general well-being. As mentioned last month, trying new vegetables, fruits, or flowers is a fun activity that produces many benefits. Sharing a few extra roses, or fresh strawberries with a shut-in neighbor, will make you both happy – just do it safely.

Everyone knows that food tastes better when you’ve grown it yourself, so grow even more. Zucchini is an easy vegetable to grow for edible flowers and fruit and abundant enough to share. The list of vegetables we can grow is astounding, and the timing is perfect for so many. Consider ordering and growing from seed. Raising a plant from seed is fun and satisfying for gardeners of all ages.

Many yards have neglected and ignored fruit trees or berry fruits. Find exciting recipes for those plums, pears, apples, figs, etc. that you used just to collect and put in the green bin. You’ll never look at those plants the same way once you’ve found something to do with them that excites you. Some of the food processing methods that always seemed too much work, can be a fun family experience – pickles, jams, preserves, butters, etc. can be used for months later. Every day we are creating memories we’ll look back on later, we can make some of the memories bright and fun.

by Roger Raiche David McCrory, Planet Horticulture