People seem to have a strong connection to nature. We seek it out and we revel in it. Sticking your hands into a freshly dug bedding is pure bliss. We are more part of the earth than what we sometimes want to admit.

In this modern and technological advanced world of ours, we forget that humans are also part of nature. Some would say that we are the intelligent part of nature. Either way, we seem to be programmed to want to be in nature and enjoy it.

The closest bit of nature to us is our gardens. Once started, you will find that there is a lot of joy to be found in gardening. A garden makes you focus on the plants and trees that are that lives next to you.

Suddenly you start to see that geraniums come in a thousand colors. Trees can have good days and bad days. You realize that certain plants attract butterflies and ladybirds. Even the names of plants and flowers are beautiful. "Just Joey" , "Morning glory" and "Maiden hair". Then there are the colors and the smells. Green is the color with more shades than you can imagine. A garden is a feast for your senses.

I will agree that there are a lot of frustrations and disappointments. You can buy an expensive plant that just dies on the spot. Another may never bloom or insist on having blue flowers in your pink corner. Not to mention the weeds. Gardening sometimes feel like a constant battle against weeds. Don't these plants realize by now that they are not wanted!

The joys of gardening are just so much more rewarding. You have the rose bush that keeps on giving the most beautiful roses. Poppies pop up every year without any effort on your part. The old oak tells you it is spring time with his fresh green leaves.

Non-gardeners do not realize that a garden gives you more than what you put in. Of course the more time and money you put in a garden, the better it will look. But there is more to it than that. Say you make the effort to plant a crabapple tree one year. That tree will delight you with his blossoms for the rest of his life. That is way it works in a garden.

Some things need more attention than others. Some days your garden just calls you to drink your tea outside. It is not always about digging and chopping and weeding. Though that is a big part of it.

In the end your garden is like an old friend or a spouse. Only you and your garden know about your youthful mistakes and the garden is not talking. You have come a long way together. The goal is not to HAVE a nice garden, it is to make a nice garden. That is the joy of gardening.

Learn more about this author, Marina Shemesh.
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