Pros and Cons of Planting a Garden

I love gardening! The smell of the wet dirt and beautiful flowers are a must-have! But then life has happened, and it has become hard to find the time to garden. Is it worth the time? What are the Pros and cons?

Pros of Planting a Garden 

1. If you are planting a vegetable garden, you have fresh vegetables throughout the summer. You can't beat fresh out of the garden vegetables. Have you ever had a garden-fresh tomato and then a store-bought one? They are almost two different things.
2. Gardening is good for mental health. I know when I am feeling down, and the world seems to be getting to me. Dirt on my hands makes the day so much better!
3. Flowers make your house look inviting. Again we have been looking at ways to increase the value of our home. One of the easy but big ones is to keep up on the yard. Flowers are a fun way to do this!
4. Gardening saves a lot of money. I remember talking to my dad about saving money, and he had said one of the best things that they had done to save money was planting a large garden. I bought a tomato plant for around $4. By the end of the summer, I had probably 25 tomatoes. It paid for its self and some.
5. Eating food from your garden can help you try new things. Have you ever tried a yellow tomato or a purple carrot? There are so many fun varieties of food you can grow that you wouldn't have otherwise. 
6. By gardening, you are becoming self-reliant. After COVID it is nice to rethink how much we shouldn't rely on everyone else to provide. If all else fails, you will have food in your garden.
7. You are creating a place of beauty that can bring a lot of joy.  Making something beautiful is very rewarding. Are you lacking in "your sense of purpose"? Try getting out in the dirt.
8. Herb gardens inside can make your kitchen smell nice. I love to think about air quality and ways to improve what I am breathing. Not only are you helping improve your air, but you are making it smell so good.
9. The more plants. The more bees. We need bees! If you haven't heard, there is a bee shortage. We need those cute black and yellow buzzers to help keep food on the table. So by planting things that need pollination. You are helping the bee shortage.
10.  More plants equal better air quality. The world around us has been changed a lot in the last 100 years. I am not saying that we need to destroy the modern world. I am saying by planting a garden of any kind, our carbon footprint decreases.
11. Gardening comes in many shapes and sizes. If you don't have room for a large out door garden try buying some house plants.

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Cons of Planting a Garden

1. It takes time. Not an understatement! Unless your yard never has weeds, rains every week, and has magical gnomes. You will need to pick the ripe fruit, prune, weed, and water. You are stuck with the work. 
2. It may feel overwhelming. In the summer when it is 100 degrees outside. You have a million other things to do. Gardening can feel like a daunting task.
3. If you hate veggies, there is no point in planting them. What is the point of planting a vegetable garden if you will never eat the produce? There are other types of gardens, so don't lose hope, but I wouldn't recommend planting things that will go to waste. 
4. You need to make space for a garden. Most yards nowadays are tiny! Who has the space to plant all of your favorite things? 
5. It is hard to travel a lot and have a garden because it needs attention. If your family is never home during the summer and you can't have someone to take care of your plants will die. 
6. You may have allergies to certain flowers and plants. Certain plants bloom in the spring, and I know because my throat is so itchy. I can't imagine finding out the hard way. That you are allergic to something after lots of time goes into planting it.

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"Our goal is to help the world make decisions with a list of Pros and Cons. We invite all to add to our lists to help others make the most educated decision possible. We are all in this world together to help each other and learn from what others have learned from their lives journey." - Pros and Cons Team

Written By: Sarah