We all do things differently, choose differently, like differently, are appealed to by different things and want things in different ways. Some like the playful and informal, others the regimented and austere. Some like a lot of colours together whilst others prefer a coordinated palette and some do not appreciate colour at all. Some put the emphasis on a well organised structure and find that the most important part, others jumps right in with summer pots and flower beds in the middle of the lawn. Some would never consider decorations in the garden whilst some love them. Some have read up properly and know exactly which plant to put where and keep rigorously to the plan for the best long term result, others go with their impulses and get plants according to what they want, whenever they feel like it. Some want a garden which need a minimal amount of work and others look forward to spending the majority of their free time on it.
Some know the names of the plants by heart, others never learn them and might even throw out the labels, some want to learn but do not succeed. We all have different opportunities regarding our gardens depending on where we live and also on our finances, time and other circumstances in life that affect what we do, when we do it and how it turns out. It all also depends on what we truly want from our garden. Some are content with a small plot of their own whilst others dream of prodigious abundance or the grandeur of what takes a lifetime to create. Some have recently acquired their garden or simply recently started to work with it, others have been doing it for decades. Noon of this matters at all when it comes down to what it truly means to have your own plot to take care of. My favourite quote, regarding gardens, comes from Carl G Jung and I find that he summarizes it all.

All people need to have a garden, no matter how small, to keep connected to the earth and thereby to something deeper inside of themselves.
Carl G Jung

This is what I think gardens are about.
Truly.

The essence. The core of the meaning of having a garden and connection to yourself. I have had that quote stuck to the right margin ever since I started blogging almost precisely  seven years ago.Like a reminder but also a calling to how beneficial gardens are. Next to it are my own words regarding the question: Why do gardening? If I were to write it today it would most likely have the same answer just differently formulated. Anyway, this is how I wrote it seven years ago:

Gardening is healing. All the poking, cultivating, creating, cutting, harvesting and planting helps us feel good. By having a relaxed approach towards the waiting to get done in the garden and at the same time enjoying everything beautiful helps to find a balance so that the garden becomes a ‘want’ and ‘ long for’ and not a ‘ have to’. Garden for me is an oasis of creativity, desire, beauty and rest.

There is nothing wrong with wanting a finished garden to get an extension to the living room or kitchen in a fitted from where there is no desire to work with it. Just to have a garden is good enough. Just to have the privilege to reside in a green outdoor space is beneficial. The possibility to discover the infinite healing that being active in your garden gives you, can be seen as a bonus that patiently awaits to be cached in. There are health benefits to be taken advantage of in many people’s close surrounding.