I’m sorry but when your find your passion you automatically assume  an evangelistic fervor which drives you to spread the word to anyone who will listen! 

Can you stand one more diatribe on the joys of gardening.  One can start small and stay small or grow it into a business and save the world! My spark came when a friend gave me a garlic plant about 5 years ago – little did I know that garlic plant would blossom into a show stopping corner of alliums so beautiful I couldn’t possibly consider eating the garlic!

When you dig around in the soil, planting flowers and harvesting vegetables, they tell me you are coming into contact with something called Mycobacterium vaccae, beneficial bacteria that help to stabilize mood and promote better sleep.

. (If you think Mom’s crazy now you should have seen her five years ago,” say my children.)

What’s even more interesting is that you don’t even need to dig in the dirt to be exposed, because simply being outside in the garden and inhaling can do the trick quite nicely. We are trained to think that all bacteria are bad, but that is not necessarily the case – exposure to these “good” bacteria in the soil can help to strengthen the immune system. 

As you continue gardening and expanding your skills through trial and error, a mushroom effect occurs as you branch into related activities like building garden rooms outside, pathways to nowhere and experimenting with non-traditional garden art.  

My friend and garden mentor Charlie Weatherly took an old dresser outside into his huge garden and created a prayer and meditation space.  That was 15 years ago and that one revelation is what sparked my interest.  And my close friend and neighbor, the late Brenda Chamblis, showed me how to find joy in the garden while covered with mud and smelling like cow manure.