Backyard Gardening Tips

I love summer and when it finally arrives here on the east coast of Canada we don’t waste too much time getting into it. We have our dream house now and spend a lot of time in the backyard, but it’s not quite what we want just yet.

We have a lot of things to do during the nice summer months. Things like so many others associate backyards with, like family picnics, BBQs, swimming, and outdoor sports. Even though we love all that fun stuff there was something missing in our new backyard and that is growing a vegetable garden.

You might say why bother but I was raised on a farm and we grew almost all the food we needed to get through the long cold winters and I miss that. Buying everything from the grocery stores seems so boring and things just don’t taste the same do they. Take the time to learn to garden and you will be amazed at what happens.

I truly believe the benefits of growing a garden real out-weigh any work involved in gardening. Check out the benefits to backyard gardening and determine if growing a garden is for you.

There are many design ideas for your garden, even designs that limit the bending over that so many find difficult. Raised garden beds work great for people with limited mobility.

Just because I said a veggie garden doesn’t mean it really has to be a veggie garden. If you prefer flowers then you go with flowers. We already have a backyard filled with beautiful flowers so we want to go to the next level with veggies. A flower garden really turns heads. I even take a camera with me when I go for my walks because so many people have lovely flower gardens.

Vegetable gardens are a perfect way to save some money on food and to impress all your friends. Many vegetable gardens are composed of potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, and beets. We tried the tomato thing last year now we know we don’t need to plant so many tomato plants. If you are able to successfully grow these foods, you and your family could enjoy them as a tasty treat or part of a meal.

It may sound like a contradiction but I think the best benefit to backyard gardening is the relaxation. Gardening requires a fairly large amount of work when done correctly it just doesn’t seem like work. In fact, my mother and father were gardeners and I could tell that gardening was a great way for them to relax.

As a kid I didn’t think it was too relaxing because my pace didn’t seem to be fast enough for Mom and Dad. I was much more willing to go play in the hay or chase cows.

In your garden you can work at your own pace and take breaks as you feel you need them. The lack of stress doing gardening this way has a big payoff in great food and even a longer life with less stress.

Even though I didn’t care for gardening as a kid I did learn things that help me today so don’t be afraid to get your kids in on the fun of gardening. I just remembered how much I did enjoy eating out of our garden, Mmmmmm.

So give backyard gardening a try. You can start with tomatoes like my wife and I did. The size of your garden is totally up to you so don’t push it to the point that you don’t relax any more.