What Does Gardening Mean to You?

Gardening can mean different things to different people. For some, it’s a way to save money and lead a healthier lifestyle; for others, it’s a tradition passed down from their parents and grandparents that should be preserved. But whatever the reason one takes up gardening, we can all agree that gardening is not just a mere hobby but a passion that brings peace and happiness to one’s life.

In order to determine the true essence of gardening, we asked our Instagram followers on The Happy Gardening Life for their opinions. Hundreds of our followers shared with us their personal stories on what gardening means to them. We went ahead and compiled the best answers so we can all appreciate how gardening has changed our lives for the better. Read below to be inspired!


What Does Gardening Mean to You?

1. Sustainability of life.
— @djhard225

2. Relaxation, tending to something growing and loving the plants, feeling the flow of nature. My favorite smell ever is fresh potting soil, my hands in the cold dirt.
— @sacrificialornament

3. Connection to God, creativity, faith, hope, and mental clarity.
— @kathryn_jayne_

4. Taking ownership of a project and feeling a sense of achievement, accomplishment and personal satisfaction knowing you started a job and finished a job.
— @thegeogarden

5. Knowledge and  independence.
— @richardgetsit

6. Gardening is hope, disappointment, joy, frustration, beauty, life, and death all rolled into one. Basically it’s like a soap opera that I get to star in every year.
— @ahoyhomestead

7. A time to let go and do what makes me happy in the garden.
— @greenspire_inspire

8. Gardening gives me an incentive to go outside. I feel accomplished when something grows!
— @aliyahavb

9. My daily peace of mind and time to meditate and reflect on creation. Something as simple as planting one seed and watching it grow into a plant that produces multiple fruits and veggies is something awe inspiring… and I plan to pass down my knowledge to my children as well.
— @_wallybee

10. A healthy and happy life.
— @belgardenfarm

11. Where I am most free to be myself.
— @sapandsteam

12. Fascination! I am always so fascinated that a big plant develops from such a small seed.
— @pinnlilja

13. An escape from from scattered thoughts swirling around in my head. Vitamin D and the results are so satisfying!
— @maria7faith

14. The veg garden provides my family with sustenance and revitalizes my soul. Gardening is my physical, emotional, and spiritual way to connect with the earth.
— @hauitichick

15. It’s what I do to give back to forgotten communities to teach them eating healthy is good.
— @naturesbest7

16. Seeing the miracle of life and taking care of life on this planet… or garden, at least.
— @kapauseppa

17. Connection – with the earth, the cycles of life, and the miracles and mysteries of plants.
— @sparkimagination

18. Directly controlling what goes into my body and learning valuable skills.
— @backcountrygirl

19. A place where I can find myself when I need to lose myself.
— @aribotsford

20. There’s no better therapy than putting your hands in the dirt. It grounds me like nothing else can. When I’m gardening, all the nonsense in my head gets sorted out. I hope to always have at least a small patch of dirt to work in.
— @upclearcreek

21. It’s where I go to ground myself. Digging my bare feet and hands in the soil floods my soul with joy and peace. Coaxing each plant into something beautiful and nourishing makes me happy. Words truly can’t express all I feel when it comes to gardening.
— @anoregonhomestead

22. To garden is to create, the most basic instinct of the human soul.
— @ash_hill06

23. It shows you your place in the universe. It learns you dignity and a deep respect for the perfect design and system that nature is in all its organisms working together and if you treat it respectfully, it offers you a possibility to be one with it.
— @mimi_misfit

24. Gardening is our life, our income, our way of doing what we love and giving back what we take as humanity in a sustainable way.
— @thefarmhandpnw

25. For me, it’s like part of my soul was awakened the first year I grew vegetables. I connect deeply to plants but never realized it. Now I can actually feel the negative energy in rooms without them versus rooms with them. I have this need to touch them when I walk near them so they can share their energy with me. It’s like I’ve tapped into this magical secret of the earth and for me, gardening is magic, and a gift. I started gardening during the most awful years of my life, and it was like therapy to my broken heart. I also feel a deep connection to the divine when in nature or when gardening. So, in a way, it’s my therapy, my passion and my religion.
— @lanathegardener

26. Gardening is looking forward to the future.
— @aprilmckinnoncarter

27. Gardening is feeding my faith in God’s miracles. Watch that super tiny seed turns into something beautiful.
— @misolaf

28. It means a future, security, and a chance to see the real magic in the world.
— @bcoffman_art

29. Everything, really. It is the inspiration (and models) for my art, the source of much of my family’s food, the birth and glue of many of my closest friendships, the schoolroom of my daughter and I suppose a church for me and all those creatures, plants, and animals that meet and hang out there.
— @joyousgarden

30. It is a passion, a lifestyle, a hobby and a cure for earth’s destruction.
— @roelbuyoro13

31. Feeling humble yet feeling so blown away at the mini ecosystems which thrive in the garden.
— @samanthasgarden_

32. Sharing and educating the goodness of REAL food from our Earth.
— @garden4life

What about you guys? Comment below and let us know what gardening means to you! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter for more gardening inspiration.