Better Late Than Never Gardening

By Lisa Jones

I just looked around and judging by my neighbor’s prosperous plot, it would seem that we are in full blown gardening season. Between work schedules, travel schedules and general life distractions, I realized I should have started my vegetable garden seeds about two months ago. Oops.

Simple living is about rejoicing in the steps you can take, not flogging yourself for the things you didn’t do, so I’ll skip the drama and adapt my late-start garden to a simpler, more streamlined version.

I truly believe that playing in dirt is good for the soul and growing even a little bit of edible stuff changes your relationship with food. While I have my long-term, heavily romanticized plan of having vast acreage one day, for now I enjoy a few leafy bits in containers while I spend the weekend curled up with a Fabulous Beekman Boys marathon. It’s fun to watch other people toil on their farms in an informative yet humorous way—while I enjoy a glass of wine.

I started container gardening a couple years ago, with zero knowledge about anything green. In fact, I had a reputation as a serial houseplant murderer. But I ventured out to the garden store and chose heirloom varieties of my favorite veggies and threw them in containers on my porch. With time and patience, I had food.

There was not much of it, certainly we were not living off the land or anything, but what changed dramatically for me was the way I looked at food.

I awakened to the fact that all food (well, all real food, anyway) came this way. It made me think about everything I purchased at the store or market—where it came from and who had watched over it. Food became so much more valuable because I understood it more. Carrots don’t always come pre-washed in those plastic bags. The six carrots I managed to grow were dirty and ugly and I loved the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree-ness of them. I gained a greater respect for food. I watered my plants, cared for them and said encouraging things to them when they looked wilty and sad in the scorching summer months.
In Charlottesville, we have many wonderful places that can help you get started and will answer even the most ridiculous gardening newbie questions without eye rolling. Fifth Season, Southern States or Snow’s for a nice selection of all things garden. Integral Yoga Natural Foods also has some local, no spray plants and carries Southern Exposure seeds.

If you are still lost, don’t worry—check out the local business Blue Ridge Backyard Harvest, as they can help you with design installation, maintenance and consulting for your edible garden. Guinevere Higgins says that she can help with any size project, from a one-hour consultation to a full garden installation. “We love helping people feel more empowered to grow food for themselves,” Genevieve says. “There’s simply nothing more rewarding than reaping a harvest grown at home!”

Like so many things with living a more simple life, gardening can seem overwhelming. Even if you don’t have a back 40, you can get immense joy from just one single container of spinach growing on your balcony or a small bunch of herbs from a window box that you can throw in your pasta sauce and mention casually to dinner guests. There is so much to learn and sometimes things just fail even for the greenest of thumbs; sometimes the squash just doesn’t grow and you only get 5 peas. That’s life. But I’m a believer in starting small, jumping in and learning by experience; chose your favorite vegetable and just see what happens. And if you have the time and energy to go bigger—go bigger! You will literally reap what you sew.

Lisa Jones is a writer and a yoga fanatic with a serious travel addiction. Lisa explores all things simple and sustainable through her blog Simplifying the Simple Life.