The story of a dear friend and her newfound passion for gardening and the benefits of becoming a gardener.
We first met under incredibly sad circumstances four years ago. Sadly, her much loved husband had passed away. We stayed in contact and as I am a trained mental health first aider, I offered my support and friendship. Consequently, I could see she was naturally grieving the loss of a future planned together and this was overwhelmingly painful for her. As we got to know each other, I mentioned my garden, as I know the benefits of gardening for our wellbeing. With this in mind, I wondered if she might be interested in growing a few flowers one day. Read on for the benefits of becoming a gardener.
A gradual interest in becoming a gardener
I know that growing flowers, spending time outdoors, nurturing your plants and planning your garden throughout the seasons and beyond can be so beneficial. In addition, this gives a real boost to our wellbeing. She was not a gardener but had a few pots dotted around, a special rose and a lavender. From our conversations I could see there was some gradual interest in growing some flowers and looking to the future. This interest was demonstrated when I shared photos of some of my garden.
A gift of some cosmos plants
As a result, I gave her a bunch of cosmos flowers picked from my garden. Also, the following spring I offered her some cosmos plants I had grown in my greenhouse. Furthermore, I explained how to plant them out, how to care for them and mentioned how they would flower for months and months. She thanked me and planted them in her garden.
The cosmos was starting to bloom
A few weeks later, she was sending me photos of her flowers and she sounded much more upbeat in our catch ups. Most importantly, she had started to enjoy life again.
Next, she noticed some bees on her cosmos flowers and suddenly her interest in being able to grow flowers in her garden for pollinators came to the fore. I could see the makings of a gardener, one who cared about nature and wanted to do her bit.
She shared this photo with me
Our conversations continued and whilst we talked about her dearly missed husband, we also talked about gardening. Suddenly she wanted to know about other varieties of cosmos. How many colours were there? how many could she grow? where could she grow them? so many questions. I could see that a border was about to be dug out.
She dug out a border and some more cosmos was planted.
Fast forward to 2022 and the christening of the Cosmos Queen
Our conversations are suddenly filled with cosmos.
She has become the Cosmos Queen.
She has ordered twelve different varieties of cosmos seeds. I have added a few more as part of her Christmas present, along with a seed box to store them in.
In addition, The Cosmos Queen is digging out more borders and will direct sow the seeds. Furthermore, she wants to grow them herself. She does not have a greenhouse for an earlier sowing, but I imagine she will get one in the future. I have a bet on that!
In particular, It is fabulous to hear her so fired up and enthusiastic. She is taking pride in her new gardening skills and planning a garden full of blooms for the future. As a happy result, a firm friendship has developed between us.
To conclude this first story on becoming a gardener
I suffered from stress and anxiety myself in 2022 and had first-hand experience of the incredibly positive benefits of gardening. My post Wonderful powers of a flower details my recovery.
Additionally, my post on gardening and anxiety can be accessed here Garden to empower, out the anxiety. This post coincided with Mental Health Awareness week and the theme was anxiety.
The RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) has some interesting information on gardening and mental health https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/health-and-wellbeing/articles/a-scientists-view
My dear friend, the Cosmos Queen, has now appeared in more posts.
What happened when I gave her some dahlias for her birthday. Now that is another story.
This second post has now been published. the amazing benefits of gardening Take a look if you would like an update on this story.
And the third, heartwarming post, can be read here The awesome power of the garden
I share this story with you, with her permission, to show you the power that growing flowers and gardening can have on our wellbeing. It is also a story of how a great friendship has been cultivated and grown. Equally importantly, the birth of a new flower filled garden, visited by grateful pollinators, is now in full swing! And the excitement of becoming a gardener and a jolly good one too!
And a final note
Finally, I shared this photo with the Cosmos Queen. She is spurred into further action and is ordering even more packets of cosmos seeds.
I think her garden will soon be as colourful as mine. More updates will follow.
We purchase cosmos seeds from Sarah Raven and Thompson and Morgan. Please click below if you want to see some cosmos options.
Click here for Sarah Raven cosmos options
Click here for Thompson and Morgan cosmos options
This blog is an affiliate for Sarah Raven and Thompson and Morgan. If you click on one of these links above, and make a purchase I may receive a commission, at no additional cost to you.
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2 responses to “Greatest benefits of becoming a gardener”
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