This Is Your Year to Start a Kitchen Garden

I'm about to convince you to start a kitchen garden this year, and I won't even talk about all the delicious and nutritious organic food you'll be able to grow right outside your backdoor.

I started my very first garden 11 years ago, and it was... an absolute failure. We managed to harvest about three things from it, and that was just enough to keep me going. I'm so glad I did keep going because the very next season, I fell in love with having a kitchen garden. It literally changed my life. And since then, I've made it my mission to get as many other people as I can gardening, too. I want to make gardening ordinary again.

So, why might you want to have a garden even if you didn't have delicious things to eat growing there? Here are my top ten reasons.

Reason #1

The Garden Encourages You to Spend More Time Outdoors

We all know we need to spend more time in nature, but it can be hard to push ourselves to go outside more. Our work is inside; most of our chores are inside; so many of the things we do on a daily basis take place inside. You're most likely sitting inside right now, reading this.

And yet countless studies show the numerous benefits of spending more time outdoors on both our mental and physical wellbeing. Time in nature reduces our cortisol levels and even leads to lower rates of heart disease. Plus, there's vitamin D, which most of us aren't getting enough of.

I first noted the importance of being outdoors with my children when they were just babies. They'd be crying and crying all day long, but then the minute I brought them outside, they'd stop. Their eyes would light up, and they'd take in the whole scene around us—the leaves on the trees, the clouds, the squirrels. I remember having an aha moment that the effects aren't just for tiny humans. We're meant to be outside more.

The garden invites you to step outside every day. You'll be excited to visit it so you can see what's growing, which pollinators are visiting, and what's just about ready to pick. Trust me, you'll feel happier or more relaxed each time you come back from checking on your garden.

Reason #2

You'll Move Your Body More

I've been hearing a lot about non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) lately. It's basically anything we do to expend a lot of energy that's not related to sports or workouts. NEAT exercise includes everything from fidgeting to biking to work.

A major physical benefit to having a garden is moving your body more. It's so bad for us to just sit down all day long. We need to be getting up every single hour and moving around.

Raise your hand if you struggle to stay motivated to get in your car, drive to the gym, walk in the door, and sweat for the next 30 minutes. That kind of exercise just doesn't come naturally to us. But it's not hard to motivate yourself to step outside your back door and walk into the garden. And once you're in your garden—no matter how large or small it is—you're going to notice tasks that need doing: weeds that need to be pulled, leaves that need to be pruned, empty spots that need to be filled with seeds. Before you know it, you've gotten 2,000 steps in, just inside your garden space.

When you're gardening, you don't even realize you're exercising. You're just planting, tending, and having a great time. That means you'll move your body for way longer than you would when you're watching the time tick down on the treadmill, wondering how much longer you have to endure the cardio portion of your workout. They say an hour of time in the garden burns about 350 calories.

Reason #3

You'll Have a New Hobby

Setting up a garden means starting a fun and motivational hobby for yourself. Most of us are on our computers and phones all day, scrolling and swiping. Gardening means going outside, setting your phone down, and getting dirt under your nails. You can watch life burst from the soil as a direct result of work your own two hands have done. Gardening is really one of the most practical yet wonderful hobbies you can have. (I know I said I wouldn't talk about food, but seriously, not many other hobbies let you eat everything you produce!)

I think it’s revealing that the age bracket between 35 and 44 had the highest mean spending on garden products over the past few years. This is the generation that grew up largely before social media and screen time consumed waking hours, but that has also relied on technology for work, school, banking, scheduling, and parenting in their adult years. Now, they’re craving a return to activities that don’t come with blue light.

Reason #4

Time Spent in the Garden Is Meditative

Studies have likened gardening to time spent meditating. I don't know if you've ever tried to meditate, but I found it too difficult. Every time I'd close my eyes and try to clear my mind, I'd think of a thousand other things I needed to be doing. But when I'm outside in the garden tending my plants, my mind calms. My thoughts slow down. It's like gardening provides just enough of a distraction that I can focus, you know?

After I've spent some time gardening, I feel less frantic, less stressed. I'm just able to be in the moment.

So if you're looking for ways to reduce your stress or anxiety but meditation feels out of reach for you, gardening is your new BFF.

Reason #5

The Garden Inspires a Sense of Hope

I just talked to a student of mine named Donna, who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She joined our Kitchen Garden Academy class and set up her kitchen garden with her husband while she was going through her treatment. She said that the kitchen garden is the thing that's kept her going. Putting seeds and plants in the dirt gave her hope that she was going to live to see them grow and thrive under her care.

You don't have to be enduring serious health challenges to feel a sense of hope from gardening. Maybe you're just in one of those blah moods where everything feels wrong or pointless; gardening is such a simple and pure way to give yourself something to look forward to. And you don't have to spend thousands of dollars on a vacation. You can simply put a seed in the soil and wake up every single day for the next five to ten days hoping to see it sprout.

Reason #6

The Garden Reconnects You with Nature

I don't know about you, but my environment has always been adjusted to the perfect temperature for most of my life. There's AC in the summer and heat in the winter. Growing up, I ate the same kinds of food from the grocery store every single week of the year, no matter the month. I knew what season it was more because of the school calendar and the holidays rather than the actual changes in nature.

But when you have a garden, you'll be connected to nature, especially the seasons, in ways you've never been before. I've found that since I started a garden, my awareness of what's happening in the sky, the ground, the trees around me has been awakened. I notice the bees, I see the butterflies, I hear the birds, I note the leaves changing color on the trees. It's like things that were once black and white are now in full living color. I'm experiencing nature up close and personal in the garden, and the same thing will happen to you.

Reason #7

The Garden Gives You a Sense of Purpose

I recently learned about the Japanese idea of ikagai. It's basically your reason to wake up and get out of bed in the morning. The thing that makes your life worth living.

Listen, we've all been there—listening to the alarm go off and wishing you could just sleep through the next 20 days. Life can be hard, and some days are tougher than others. But having something that's growing outside your back door that is relying on you for its care can give you a purpose. You have a reason to get up.

Maybe you've been feeling like your work is coming to a dead end and you're struggling with the people you care about, but that plant is counting on you. She needs you to water her, prune her, trellis her, make sure that she gets all that she needs to grow to her full potential. Knowing this—believe it or not—can get you out of bed in the morning.

Reason #8

The Garden Helps You Connect with Loved Ones

Your garden can be a place where you suddenly get to connect with people in a totally new way—friends, family, even strangers. I've found by having a garden I've met so many people that never would have crossed my path otherwise. I recently made friends with a neighbor who wanted to come tour my garden and see it up close.

When my four kids were younger, I was always looking for ways we could hang out and make memories without them competing with each other. The garden really was that place for us as a family. A place where all of us could find something that we loved to do, and there wasn't a first prize or a last place. 

Reason #8

The Garden Gives You a Place to Host

Your garden is the most fantastic place to welcome people to your home. Maybe your house is a mess; no worries. It's not nearly as intimidating to have people over if they can just come hang out in your garden.

I recently hosted a brunch here in my own garden. I set out a little bit of fresh food from the garden, and we just stood around and talked. It was so easy on me as the host and a fun way for us all to connect with people over plants.

When you create a garden, you're building a new space for yourself, your friends, and your family. It might just become your favorite spot in your home.

Reason #9

The Garden Is a Key Part of the Good Food Movement

Over the last few decades, there's been a growing interest in knowing our food's sources, returning to organic growing methods, and appreciating the nutrients available when eating freshly picked food. The kitchen garden is a key part of this movement.

Although the garden won't provide the entirety of your family's fruit and vegetable needs, it gives you a taste of what's growing locally, an appreciation for the process of growing organic and natural food, and a connection to the growers or farmers in your area.

We can all agree that things are not going well for the climate. Although they're not the only contributors, some of our planet's troubles stem from food miles, plastic packaging, and food waste. Currently, most of the food consumed in America travels more than 1,500 miles before reaching our plates. The petroleum demand on food is huge.

So by growing at least a little bit of your food in your own personal kitchen garden and by eating locally, you vastly reduce the number of food miles your food needs to travel to get to your plate. Of course, you won't be able to completely replace all of your groceries with things from the garden. But even those few little things that you can skip add up.

Reason #10

The Garden Benefits Our Pollinators & Wildlife

Finally, if for no other reason, you should grow a garden because it's good for our planet. (This is my 10th and final reason, but it's by no means the last of the many benefits you can get from growing your own garden.)

I'll never forget this one time I was unpacking plants from my van for a client's new kitchen garden, and I turned around to find a monarch butterfly on a milkweed plant. The butterfly found those flowers almost immediately and landed right on them. It was a beautiful reminder that nature is waiting on us to create more garden spaces. We don't need more outdoor places covered in grass. That's not welcoming to wildlife. Lawns don't take care of our bees and butterflies.

Creating a garden is adding a new habitat for all of these wonderful creatures. Imagine the difference we can make if there's a little habitat in each of our backyards.

There You Have It—10 Reasons to Start a Garden Right Now

Even if you don't care a thing about growing your own food, you should start a garden. You'll feel better mentally, physically, and emotionally. You're going to have a special space to hang out with your loved ones. You're going to do so much good for the entire planet, especially those hungry bees and butterflies.

You will live your fullest possible life.

If I've convinced you to start a garden, we've got all the resources you need to get started. My first book, Kitchen Garden Revival, walks you through the step by step to set up and install your kitchen garden. My second book, Leaves, Roots, and Fruit, teaches you how to grow all your favorite herbs, fruits, and veggies. And we host free workshops throughout the year, so make sure to be on the lookout for the next one.

Thanks for being here and helping us make gardening ordinary!