I used to think that a green thumb was genetic.
When I was a little kid, summer meant getting dropped off at my Grandparents’ house for the day. The moment my mom pulled out of the driveway, Grandma would already have her garden boots on, waiting for me. We’d walk out into the garden together, pick whatever was ripe, and eat it for lunch a couple of hours later.
It was garden-to-table decades before it became a trendy catchphrase. To me, it was just pure magic.
So, years later, when I moved out of Chicago into the Northwest suburbs and stared at my very own empty backyard, I thought: “How hard could this really be?”
Famous last words.
My first garden failed spectacularly.
- I didn’t realize you couldn’t put a garden in the heavy shade. Next to my house’s foundation. In soil backfilled from the house.
- I rigged up a bizarre irrigation system that didn’t actually water anything.
- I planted an all-herb garden specifically designed to “save me money at the grocery store”—an experiment that ultimately swallowed many times more money and sweat than it ever gave back to me in basil.
My Second Garden Transformed My Physical Health 🌱
Determined not to be beaten by a patch of dirt, I revamped and built my second garden.
This time, I put it in full sun. I fixed the watering situation. And it worked! The plants grew, the harvest arrived, and a wonderful thing happened: my physical health started to transform.
Eating hyper-fresh, nutrient-dense food that I had coaxed out of the earth changed the way my body felt on a cellular level.
But that garden still had a major flaw: it was a factory.
It was strictly utilitarian. I walked out of my house, harvested my food, and walked right back inside. It was a successful chore, but it was still a chore.
My Third Garden Transformed My Mental Health 🌱
I looked at my backyard one afternoon and asked myself a question that changed everything: What if I built a garden I actually wanted to spend time in?
I stopped viewing my garden as just an outdoor produce aisle. I redesigned the layout, giving up some growing space to carve out a dedicated seating area. I began prioritizing the exhale of the space just as much as the yield of the soil.
This morning, like most mornings, I took my tea outside.
I sat in that seating area, watched the dappled sunlight filter through the trees, and wrote a page in my gratitude journal.
It’s almost impossible to have a bad day when you start your day that way. I find that I’m kinder, more patient, and more grateful for the little moments of joy throughout my days.
The physical benefits of gardening changed my body; the mental health benefits changed my life.
How to Grow a Garden that Changes Your Life 🌱
When we work together, my ultimate goal isn’t just to teach you how to keep a tomato plant alive (though we will definitely do that). My goal is to help you skip to straight to the garden that changes your life.
I want to spare you the expensive, frustrating years of Garden #1, and rescue you from the exhausting, chore-heavy grind of Garden #2. I want to help you build a space that nourishes your physical body, while acting as a quiet sanctuary for your mind.
If you are ready for your next garden:
