Tried it, Adored it: Gardening

No matter how big or small your space is, anyone can cultivate some greenery. After moving to university dorms, I forgot and then rediscovered my love for plants.

Back home, I had a lot of houseplants. And I mean a lot. People would jokingly ask me if I was growing a jungle. Despite this, I've never actually done anything more than just repotting the occasional plant that grew too big for its decorative wicker basket.

My own house plants back home

This week I decided to change that.

First up; my parent's garden.

I got well and truly stuck in, weeding, plucking, pruning. And then I discovered something that made it all amazingly worthwhile.

In my parent's yard, dotted all over the place, grew wild onion. GIANT DISCLAIMER HERE: While onion and its relative garlic are the easiest plants to forage for (if it smells like an onion, it's probably edible- as a very loose general rule.) There are a lot of plants that look like onions but are not. They can cause a hideously upset tummy if you eat them so please be careful and do NOT use this blog as a foraging guide) I was convinced it was wild onion as it: smelled like onion, looked like chives (thin tubular leaves), and then I very cautiously nibbled on the tiniest few millimetres of it. Definitely onion. I cut some up and put it on my toast. Mum called me brave. I decided to replant the onion in a patch together so we know that it's safe to harvest from there.

The first picture is a wild onion. The rest are me eating them

When I got back to campus, I signed up to an event called Pride and Plant. This was the best use of my limited time, as we got to plant stuff for other people- specifically elderly and disabled people within our neighbourhood. I saw little worms and smelt the rich scent of soil. It fixed me. Best of all, the people that we planted flowers for were BEAMING with the joy of new spring blooms. Easily one of my favourite university memories so far, as everyone involved benefitted from such a simple act.

Try it Once or Twice?

I'll probably make another post specifically about houseplants and what you can grow for free, but if you have access to land, grab a spade and get planting outside. Ask vulnerable people around you if they need help with their gardens. The feeling of planting something is so satisfying. Especially if you get to see the leaves pop up, but it's also good for the local pollinators and wildlife. Definitely try it a couple of times!

Cost: minimal- cultivate the native plants that might be around you already

Tries: multiple

Recommend: if you want to relax and help the bees at the same time