Gardening, often seen as a therapeutic and fulfilling activity, can sometimes lose its joy for various reasons. Whether it is due to setbacks like plant failures or pest invasions or simply the demands of a busy life, losing the joy of gardening is a common experience.
When you lose your connection to your joy, your motivation declines and your harvests are not as bright and healthy. You may find yourself skipping this step or that. However, the good news is that by shifting your mindset and adopting positive strategies, you can reignite the passion and pleasure that gardening once brought into your life and rediscover your garden joy!
Understanding the Loss of Joy
When the joy of gardening wanes, it is essential to reflect on the factors contributing to this decline. Perhaps unexpected challenges have become overwhelming, or the initial excitement has faded. Acknowledging the reasons behind the diminished joy is the first step towards reclaiming the pleasure of tending to your garden.
Shifting Your Perspective
Oftentimes, when that unexpected challenge or setback occurs, you might be too close to the situation to understand it fully at first. Instead of focusing on the particular occurrence, it is best to shift your perspective. Here are some tips for helping you achieve this.
Accept imperfections
Gardens, like life, are full of imperfections. Accept that not every plant will thrive and not every season will be bountiful. Embrace the learning process that comes with setbacks, viewing them as opportunities for growth rather than failures.
Set realistic expectations
Re-evaluate your expectations and set realistic goals. Understand that gardening is a journey with its ups and downs. By establishing achievable objectives, you alleviate the pressure to create a flawless garden and open the door to enjoying the process.
Rediscovering Joyful Practices
If gardening is something that you truly love, you want to rediscover your joy for the activity—and it is completely possible—and not too hard of a process once you have some ideas in mind for regaining your gardening love!
Start small
Begin by reintroducing joy through small, manageable tasks. Focus on areas that bring immediate gratification, such as planting vibrant flowers or herbs that require minimal maintenance. Gradually expand your gardening activities as your enthusiasm grows.
Create a garden oasis
Transform a corner of your garden into a personal oasis. Add a comfortable chair, some cozy cushions, and perhaps a small fountain. This designated space becomes a retreat where you can reconnect with the joy of gardening without feeling overwhelmed by larger tasks.
Practice mindfulness
Infuse mindfulness into your gardening routine. Slow down, savor the sensory experiences—the scent of soil, the warmth of the sun, and the rustle of leaves. By being present in the moment, you can rediscover the simple pleasures that gardening offers.
Celebrate successes
Take the time to celebrate every success, no matter how small. Whether it is the first sprout from a seed you planted or the sight of a vegetable taking shape, acknowledging these achievements contributes to a positive mindset and reignites the joy of gardening.
Journal your thoughts
As discussed in last week’s blog (which you can read HERE), garden journaling allows you to gather and focus your thoughts in one place, often leading to the discovery of solutions for the thing that is diminishing your gardening joy. Journaling also allows you to acknowledge your emotions—both positive and negative—so that you can process them on your path toward gardening joy!
Evolving Experience
The joy of gardening is a dynamic and evolving experience. It is perfectly normal to go through periods where the enthusiasm wanes, but with a shift in mindset and deliberate efforts to rediscover joy, you can rekindle the pleasure of tending to your garden. By accepting imperfections, setting realistic expectations, and engaging in mindful practices, you will find that the joy of gardening is not lost forever but merely waiting to be rediscovered within the vibrant tapestry of your garden.
Gardening Joyfully
We at Grow Your Own Vegetables recognize the importance of joy in the garden and have developed an entire course around the subject. The Joyful Gardener Course consists of eight lessons that are a foundation of gardening practices to save you time and stress and maintain your gardening joy while achieving abundant harvests. The lessons center around fitting gardening into your lifestyle easily to benefit from the experience.
Through Monday, March 11th, the Joyful Gardener Course is offered at a better than great savings of $120 off, which is 60% off the regular course price. In addition, to complement this course, you also have the option to add the Garden Mindset & Journaling Microcourse for only an additional $27. That’s two informative gardening courses for around $100!
In the Garden Mindset & Journaling Microcourse, you learn 26 mindsets to practice and cultivate over time as well as tried and true journaling practices and techniques to reap the greatest benefit from the practice. As mentioned previously, garden journaling is an important step in regaining and maintaining your garden JOY!
This special pricing is only available through Monday, March 11th at 11:59pm Pacific Time so don’t wait to add these two courses to your garden library. You can find out more HERE. The Garden Mindset & Journaling Microcourse for $27 is available for selection during the checkout process.
Let us know in the comments what brings you JOY in your garden and how you discover it if you happen to lose it.
