Start Gardening!

Rene Daniel: Owner of Gardenland Nursery, Port Lavaca, TX

In our post about “Twirling Your Thumbs” we talked about how learning something new prevents boredom, which in turn prevents stress and burnout. Another way is through gardening, or learning to garden. This week, I interviewed Rene Daniel, who along with her husband Mike, own and operate Gardenland Nursery in Port Lavaca, TX. Gardenland Nursery specializes in Floral Design for All Occasions, Commercial and Residential Ground Care and Landscaping, and as this post will show, gives great gardening advice. If you are like me, you face stress and were born without a green thumb. With that said, this post is dedicated to you!

When I asked Mrs. Daniel what I needed to get started in gardening, her reply was simple, “Just desire and some dirt”. Good dirt was an interesting conversation. In the past, I’ve had plenty of desire, but most of my dirt was from the back yard. This let me know why my plants don’t seem to last too long. “Good dirt” needs to start out sterile and be free of other seeds, especially of those that cause weeds. If your soil was like mine, fertilizer could help. When asked, Rene recommends Miracle-Gro or Osmoocote.

Now we have dirt, what’s next? For beginners, Rene recommended starting out with inexpensive bedding plants, and says they are good for people who have yards, or live in apartments. Examples are impatiens, petunias, geraniums, marigolds, and I’m sure there are others that I am leaving out. She also told me this activity can be relaxing year-round: spring, summer, fall or winter, and how each season has different plants. Spring is the right time for petunias and begonias, while fall and winter would be fine for pansies and snapdragons.

Another attraction of gardening is how customizable it can be. Besides the colorful flowers, you can also go for colorful and unique pots and planters. If you like a little more of a payoff, you might want to think about a vegetable garden. Now is the time to plant potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers.

So what is our main point? If learning helps to prevent boredom and burnout, then gardening will give you a good chance to learn. All of the petunias, planters, potatoes, and peppers present you with potential pieces of new knowledge. In addition to learning new things, Mrs. Daniel tells me that the connection with nature could be a reason for the stress reducing effects of gardening. When I directly asked her how come gardening reduces stress, she replied, “It’s just relaxing!” Well said Rene, well said!

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