The Art of Gardening

A Coffee with Padre Video

By Fr. Timothy Armbruster, C.PP.S.

For many summers on the farm, my grandmother harped on us to do something about the flower right outside her kitchen window on either side of the sidewalk. Each summer we would plant flower seeds and nothing but weeds would appear. We tried everything we could to grow flowers. We changed the soil, we used store-bought soil, we fertilized. Everything we had the same results: only weeds grew.

The last summer before Grandma passed away, I was home visiting Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa and I came back into the house after lunch. There sitting on the kitchen table was a mason jar with “flowers.” Grandpa yelled, “Don’t we have enough damn weeds outside, do we need them in here as well?” Grandma just smiled and said, “Those are my flowers and don’t touch them!” Later that December, Grandma passed away. The next spring I visited Grandpa and we had lunch together. Standing at the kitchen sink doing dishes, I looked out and I swear, every flower seed we had ever planted over the last 20-some years had come up. Not one weed in sight just flowers. Grandpa and I looked at each other without saying a word. We finished dishes and I headed outside. I returned later that afternoon to find Grandma’s mason jar on the kitchen table full of flowers. I looked at Grandpa sitting in his recliner and he just smiled.

Nature holds a special place in my heart. I love to be out in nature and listening to all the sounds. I also have a great love of farming and gardening and getting my hands and fingers into the mud and dirt. A good friend of mine gave me a garden plaque that reads, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” In this world when we sometimes struggle to live day to day and not sure what tomorrow might bring, it is reassuring to have something to believe in, to have something to look forward to seeing.

‘To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.’

—Audrey Hepburn

Since leaving the family farm, I’ve had a desire each year to put out a garden and enjoy the work of my labors. To be able to harvest fresh fruits and vegetables and to have some beautiful flowers to brighten the walk way. I’ve not always had the “land” or space to plant in, so I have learned to improvise and use containers or raised beds where possible.

This year at Precious Blood Center, I’ve been fortunate to be able to do a bit of both. Scattered around the campus, I’ve been able to fill a few pots with flowers, fill some containers with garden plants, turn a few earth boxes into gardens and repurpose some lumber for a few raised beds.

I enjoy being outdoors and playing in nature. It gives me time to ponder and wonder about things. Running some dirt between my fingers, the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance came across my mind. It was a book I was assigned to read back in college. I really hadn’t though much of it since. I just remember reading it and the thoughts of not just going through the motions of life but being aware came to mind. I decided to reread the book and see what it could offer me in The Art of Gardening.

In a previous parish assignment, I was out working in the garden one day and a parishioner stopped by to visit. When he noticed what I was doing he chuckled and said, “That’s just too much work. My garden is Wal-Mart.” While I couldn’t disagree more with what he said, I thought to myself, oh if only he would taste the difference. Things taste so much better when they are allowed to ripen on the vine. That for me is the Art of Gardening. It’s not just getting veggies to eat but it’s nurturing and allowing them to ripen naturally. It does make a world of difference.

Not too long ago as I was web-surfing, I came across a headline that read, “Digging in the dirt can make you happy.” Yeah, that’s nothing new. As a kid many of us like digging in the dirt, making mud pies, squishing mud between our toes. But there had to be something more to the story so read on.

I soon discovered that studies have found that gardening has a wide range of health benefits and outcomes including reductions in depression and anxiety as well as increase in quality of life and sense of community. There is something about digging in the dirt that really does help to lift our spirits. The digging stirs up microbes in the soil. Inhaling these microbes can stimulate serotonin production which can make a person feel relaxed and happier.

So there is something to getting outdoors and enjoying Mother Nature. Not only to get fresh air, Vitamin D, exercise, and wonder and awe but to connect with the natural world and have fun.

Not only going out in nature but really digging and getting into nature. Getting Dirty! Studies have found that Mycobacterium vaccae, a bacterium in soil, has been found to trigger the release of serotonin, which in turn improves the mood and possible even brain function. There is also studies that suggest bacteria in soil may help to reduce the risk of asthma.

Now if only I could convince a few friends and family members who hate to get dirty and who can’t breath outdoors that getting their hands and toes dirty in the soil might actually be good for them.

Digging in the dirt, feeling the mud squish between my toes, planting, harvesting, enjoying the work of my labors might do more good for me and my soul then I ever thought possible. So take a chance, be a kid, go out and play in the dirt, make some mud pies, plant a flower or two and just enjoy Mother Nature.

I have my small garden again this year and was invited to help care for the garden across the road at Our Lady of Mercy Country Home. I’m so tickled to find some mud and dirt in the midst of all this concrete. Who knows when and where Grandma’s mason jar will appear again.

Until next time, happy gardening!

All of the videos in this series can be found here: Coffee with Padre

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[Fr. Timothy Armbruster is a Precious Blood priest whose ministry has focused on parish work and retreats for youth and young adults. He holds a Master’s of Divinity Degree from Catholic Theological Union and describes himself as “a clown at heart.” Fr. Timothy incorporates clown ministry into his work to open our hearts, to seek laughter and happiness, and to see the world around us a bit differently. “In the stuffiness of life, we need God’s humor to see things anew,” he says.]

 Credit: Photo: ID 117248117 © Luboslav Ivanko | Dreamstime.com Music: We Are a New Creation (Instrumental) Christopher Walker Paule Freeburg We Shall Praise Your Name ℗ 2011 OCP All rights reserved. All selections BMI. Released on: 2020-03-31 Music Publisher: OCP https://youtu.be/1NmInyrziZE

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