Gardening essay

Gardening essay

1. Introduction

The term “Gardening” defines the practice of growing plants in an area specially allocated for such activities only.  A “Garden,” on the other hand, is the area where actual gardening takes place. Today, many houses have their own gardens, which can either be small or big based on their available space. Such gardens are majorly used to grow decorative plants and flowers to enhance the beauty and aesthetics of a house. However, sometimes, people use their gardens to grow leafy vegetables and fruits. Therefore, other than enhancing the look of a house, a garden also supplements its kitchen supplies. Today, most people consider gardening to be a favorite activity and hobby because of its aesthetics, spiritual, and organic reasons. Ideally, the weeding, watering, mulching, trellising, and harvesting process that goes into a garden makes it a perfect physical activity. The physical labor that a garden demands from a gardener make it a perfect inclusion to one’s exercise routine. Practically, a garden allows the gardener to grow their own fruits and vegetables, thus ensuring that they put a healthy mix of food on the table. The direct harvesting of vegetables from a garden ensures that the gardeners acquire the freshest produce available. Aesthetically, ornamental gardening caters to the side of us that is delighted by beauty. Also, flowers are a part of most occasions like births, birthdays, funerals, anniversaries, and weddings, hence making gardens an appeal to the human need for beauty. Lastly, gardening helps to sharpen one’s problem-solving skills. A garden demands research into the best methods required to make a garden grow, experimentation with different techniques, and also coming up with the most appropriate irrigation systems that work for the garden, which helps to improve one’s skills regarding planning, creativity, and problem-solving. Therefore, terming gardening as a mere hobby downplays its major benefits, where it is not just a recreational activity but rather a fairly physical activity that allows for relaxation, spiritual, aesthetics, organic, and physical reasons.

1. Rose Gardens

To better understand the question of what is a garden why people garden, it is best to consider different types of the garden to navigate these reasons better. Essentially, a rose garden is a garden exclusively tailored for the growing of different garden roses or types of roses. The public is often allowed to visit such gardens to see the different roses present in the garden. The design of the roses may vary tremendously, and also the roses may be displayed alongside other rose beds or plants based on color, class, or individual variety. Rose gardens are very popular because roses are termed as beautiful flowers with alluring fragrances. Also, roses are regarded to be tough plants that have long-lived. Some rose gardens are divided into repeat-blooming roses and single blooming roses. Repeat blooming roses tend to put on a show for many months and hence require frequent upkeeps as they are more prone to diseases and insects. On the other hand, single-blooming roses require high maintenance but produce a strong fragrance. Owing to their diverse benefits, in recent years, rose gardeners have been cross-breeding the repeat blooming and single blooming roses to get a perfect blend of disease-resistant and continuous bloom roses. Additionally, unlike in the past when most rose gardens were dominated by just roses, and thus required the use of pesticides at least every other week without thinking through the harm of the insecticides to the environment, today, most of these gardens are inter-planted with various plants to encourage the growth of beneficial insect populations that help control unwanted pests.

Most people are attached to rose gardens because roses have a magic touch of transforming a garden into a beautiful modern haven. Also, roses come in varying colors and sizes, making them very popular among most people. For centuries, rose gardening has been practiced with some gardens dominated with roses as high as a hedge and others with low roses. Some gardeners are drawn to rose gardens because, ideally, roses have strong disease resistance, especially since the morning sun prevents the fungus from forming around the roses.  Most gardeners chose to cultivate rose gardens because of their immense benefits that include beauty, air freshening, and money-making.

The most obvious reason why people have rose gardens is their power to transform environments. Rose gardens can transform an ordinary-looking garden into an ‘award-winning backyard.’ Basically, roses have the power to transform any dull-looking driveway or wall, whereas they start blooming the area acquires a completely different look. Unlike other plants, roses are very striking, and the gardener just needs to be more creative around them to create beautiful spaces. The second reason why people have rose gardens is because of the property of roses to freshen the air. Ideally, different roses have different scent intensities. Roses could help an outdoor to smell like springs, also by cutting up a few stalks and placing them in vases inside a house; the house smells amazing as no commercial air freshener beats that of natural roses. On the same note, smelling a rose flower helps to calm down nerves and to relieve stress, hence growing them in the backyard serves as daily refreshing aromatherapy. Lastly, the third reason why people keep a rose garden is for its commercial reasons, where, for example, the cost of a rose bouquet exceeds all gardening expenses combined. In this case, rose gardening is a quick way to make money. For example, dried petals have also been a favorite where dried petals rose flower arrangements are known to carry the scent of fresh roses still. Hence, growing a rose garden has varied benefits not only for the physical wellbeing but the environment as well. Butterflies, bees, and birds especially love rose gardens as they enjoy traversing the rose gardens in search of food. As such, watching the roses bloom gives a strong sense of satisfaction, especially since such gardens can be easily customized or let nature take its course.

• Natural Gardens

A natural garden is the type of garden that is designed to work alongside nature as opposed to working against nature. The philosophy of natural gardens is that gardens need to be enjoyed as they are and to be enslaved. In this case, Mother Nature serves as the teacher or as the inspiration where gardens are recreated according to her; hence, natural gardens do not rely on any strict rules rather on the guidelines offered by Mother Nature. Nevertheless, when starting a natural garden, it is important to look around and pay attention to the existing vegetation, wet spots, and rocky outcrops to learn how they could be best incorporated into the garden. Such is because a natural garden’s backbone is based on the plant species that are most natural to their environment. Also, such plants are long-lived and very easy to maintain. However, this does not mean that a natural garden is also limited to native plants as they are other plants that have been recently introduced into the landscapes, and they are also very well adapted to the local environment. Thus, the main goal is to go for plants that are well-adapted, long-lived, and easy to cater for but not ones that are very aggressive and hence may interfere or even diminish the native vegetation. Therefore, a well-cared-for natural garden has a combination of plants from native species and also recently-introduced species. Such a combination enhances the beauty and health of the garden. Additionally, hybrids could also find their way into these gardens as long as their characteristics fulfill the ‘idea’ of a natural garden, such as being disease resistant and being easy to maintain. In this case, the more subtle colors are preferred as they blend perfectly with the natural environment. In most cases, in natural gardens, the grass is kept to a minimal; nevertheless, families with children may prefer incorporating some lawn area for the children’s play area.

People keep natural gardens for varied reasons but mostly because of the fact that natural gardens are low maintenance and do not require any artificial additions. Natural gardens are dominated by native plant species that are fast-growing, extremely tough, and long-lived such means that once a natural garden is set up, it is rare to buy any replacements. Even better, the native plant species grow consistently with the local conditions and can endure regional climatic variations such as drought, blizzard, frost, and floods. For example, native vines, groundcovers, wildflowers, and perennials may be preferred as they quickly cover garden areas through spreading or reseeding. Moreover, because of the healthy and weighty structures of the native plant species, shrubs, and native trees, they tend to be used to offer privacy within the landscape. Owing to their natural properties, native plant species are largely resistant to pests, diseases, and drought, and also they can easily grow without requiring pesticides. Also, once planted, they require very little watering and fertilizing, yet they tend to cover ground very quickly hence crowding out weeds, meaning less time is spent in the weeding process. Even the most adamant natural plants can be maintained with strategic pruning and thinning, thus because of the low maintenance that comes with natural gardens, they are a favorite of most gardeners.

The other reason why people keep natural gardens is that it promotes soil and water conservation. The growth of native plant species helps to position the soil in place, for water storage and to prevent stormwater from slipping into waterways. The plentiful flowers and dense forms of these plants help to break the fall of plummeting raindrops, causes rainwater to drip into the soil as opposed to flooding, and the extensive deep root systems of the plants help to siphon off moisture and to prevent soil erosion.

The other reason for nurturing natural gardens is because these gardens serve as a refuge for wildlife. The planting of native plant species allows for the creation of natural habitats designated to house local fauna. Naturally, natural plants are designed to yield seeds, nuts, fruit, and nectar for its inhabitants. Moreover, surrounding one’s home with natural plant species allows for one to have close encounters with butterflies, mammals, birds, and insects seeking food and shelter.

Lastly, natural gardens may be preferred for their natural diversity. Ideally, natural plants foster sustainable ecosystems that are seamlessly matched to their location and creatures living within the set borders of the ecosystem. In this case, the plants create a sense of location and support a visual connection between one’s individual environment and the community’s natural area. In this case, therefore, natural gardens pay tribute to the landscapes of the past while also offering aesthetics in today’s sceneries, genetic allusions for environmental research, and also create a healthier world for future generations.

1. Comparison of Rose Gardens and Natural Gardens

As seen above, rose gardens and natural gardens compare considerably. Rose gardens and natural gardens are similar in a number of ways. One, both gardens feature a variety of plant species and flowers. On the one hand, rose gardens feature different rose species and plants, and also natural gardens feature different plant species in their natural state. Two is that both rose gardens and nature gardens positively enhance the environment. Rose gardens, for example, help to control unwanted pests, whereas natural gardens promote soil and water conservation. Three is that both gardens require periodical care and maintenance where rose gardens require the use of pesticides, weeding and pruning every now and then, on the other natural gardens, despite being low maintenance must be tended to occasionally through pruning and thinning.

Nevertheless, rose gardens and natural gardens vary considerably. On the one hand, rose gardens are largely artificial where the roses are artificially planted; on the other hand, natural artificial involve very few manipulations, and often, the gardens are dominated by native plant species. Along the same line, rose gardens are mostly preferred for aesthetics reasons because of how beautiful they are, while natural gardens are preferred because they preserve the ecosystem and enhance soil and water conservation. Three rose gardens like any other artificial garden are highly demanding and hence must be frequently cared for and maintained for them to retain the look they are intended. This is not the case with natural gardens as they require very low maintenance and often the low maintenance the better because such gardens require very little manipulation. Therefore, the example of rose gardens and nature gardens serve as perfect examples to illustrate the varying reasons why people venture into gardening.

1. Zen Gardens

Rose gardens serve as a perfect illustration of the most common reason as to why most people garden, which is often to grow their favorite flowers and plants and for aesthetics purposes. On the other hand, natural gardens serve as perfect examples of how gardening could be used to conserve the environment. Nonetheless, people also use gardens as spiritual elements to relax their body and mind, and hence Zen gardens effectively meet this purpose. Zen Gardens are essentially miniature landscapes made of natural elements organized in a manner that reflects the essence of the natural world. In most cases, Zen Gardens contain elements of sand, stone, trees, plants, bushes, grass, and gravel; however, in some cases, they may contain just a stone in a square piece of sand. Traditionally, Zen Gardens date as back as 1000BC, where they were applied in Chinese mythology and Japanese Zen Buddhism. Zen Gardens are not like traditional gardens, as they symbolize a gateway to the mind’s garden. Each of the elements positioned in a Zen Garden must signify a certain principle; for instance, white sand signifies the purity of thought, whereas water signifies stillness. Because of their symbolism, Zen Gardens can be used by anyone seeking a place of reflection and refuge as they offer one with the opportunity to look into major aspects of their lives by meditating upon the miniature elements of their personal Zen landscape. Therefore, Zen Gardens are useful in meditation, where they serve as great aides to contemplative reflection on nature and life. The process of setting stones in the gardens is often compared to that of setting one’s thoughts on an empty canvas in the Japanese tradition. Today, Zen Gardens can be found in offices, schools, homes, libraries as they represent a place of order and peace.

A Zen Garden is often created for the meditative inspiration of the gardener. Although a Zen Garden does not have strict rules on what it should have, most people omit plant and water features in place of rocks and gravel to help evoke emptiness through such abstraction.  Since most Zen Gardens use rocks and gravel, the gardener must place the rocks in a bed of gravel in strategic locations to symbolize mountains and islands. The gravel must also be raked to symbolize flowing water. Regardless of its simple construction, a Zen Garden must be maintained to reinforce the raked lines and to control vegetation from growing through the gravel. The practice of maintaining the garden hence becomes an everyday meditation practice.

The other reason why people have a Zen Garden is for contemplative reasons for the viewer. Ideally, a well-constructed Zen Garden serves as an evocative piece of art that draws the viewers into a contemplation state. Also, owing to the symbolism that comes with the positioning of the rocks and gravels, questions often come up regarding the intended meaning by the gardener. In most cases, this meaning if often elusive, forcing the viewer to get into a contemplative state so as to understand the aim of the garden, which thus meets the goal of the Zen practice.

1. Conclusion

In conclusion, as seen above, there are different forms of a garden created to meet various needs. The first example of the rose garden, for instance, illustrates the larger picture of what is a garden. From that example, it is evident that a garden is a piece of the landscape set aside for cultivating purposes often to grow different plants, flowers, or shrubs. The example of the rose garden illustrates that gardening can be done for aesthetic purposes, to freshen the air, and even for commercial purposes to get money. Nevertheless, this commands for such gardens to be carefully maintained and tended to on a frequent basis removing all unwanted pests and weeds. The second example of the natural gardens, on the other hand, illustrates a completely different reason why people garden. Ideally, a natural garden is in harmony with nature, and it cannot in any way go against the forces of nature. Hence, it calls for little maintenance and also is dominated by natural plant species. Most people would have a natural garden ideally for environmental and conservation purposes as such as a garden is perfect in preventing soil conservation, in providing natural habitat to animals, and in serving as a water catchment area. Lastly, Zen Gardens are unique as they do not follow the traditional guidelines of plants but rather use rocks and gravel to imitate gardens. Also, the main purpose of a Zen Garden is for meditative reasons to help one’s mind to be one with nature. In my opinion, Zen Gardens carry a heavy spiritual connotation and hence cannot be manipulated but rather must be well maintained because of the value they carry. Overall, the three types of garden, therefore, do a brilliant job of demystifying essentially what is a garden and why people garden.