“I am 19 years old when my family moves to a new house with a large yard. Immediately, my parents start gardening, it’s one of their pleasures. They call out to me and my sister to join, she does happily because she loves gardening too. I don’t want to join because I don’t like gardening so much, I find it stressful and dirty. My mum yells, “lazy girl,” and she goes on to say, “when these seeds we’re planting grow, we will all benefit from its fruits, including you.” My dad remains quiet, I can tell he’s not happy with me, so I decide to join them gardening. At the end of the day, we’re all happy, chatting loudly, and feeling satisfied. 

“One day later that year, I come back home from college and see the harvest of the garden looking so beautiful… Tucked away from light and moisture, ready for us to use. The sight of the harvest fascinates me. I see many colored fruits, vegetables such as the evergreen pumpkin and water leaves, golden papayas, oranges and plantains, and so on.

“Now I begin to realize the importance of my parents’ gardening. This succulent produce improves our diet, and we’re also benefiting financially, as sometimes my mum sells some of the fruits. And the deep sense of wellbeing, stress relieving and mood boosting joy that we get from witnessing a small seed that we plant and nurture develop into vegetables and flowers, and trees that produce fruits, is absolutely amazing. This experience of my parents’ garden now makes me see gardening in a whole new way.”

– Florence

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