GARDEN TO TABLE
It’s no secret that vegetable gardens require a lot of love and attention. It’s also no secret that when life gets busy, things like gardening and sustainability are placed on the back burner. But what if we told you that you could have a lush veggie garden in your backyard without having to lift a finger? Here at Samantha’s Gardens, our goal is exactly that. To bring gardens into the lives of busy people who still want to enjoy the fruits of nature.
But why have a vegetable garden, anyway? Why invest in a garden service when there’s a grocery store and a florist right down the road? Believe it or not, the reasons for growing your own garden expand far beyond access to on-demand tomatoes. That said, let’s dive into the major reasons to start your garden today.
- Ensure your family is eating fresh and organic produce.
When you have a home garden, you have control over what goes into the soil and what chemicals are used to protect your plants. This means you can grow organic produce that is free of harmful pesticides and is safe to eat off the vine.
- Reduce your carbon footprint.
By switching to backyard produce, you directly impact the amount of food that needs to be shipped and delivered to stores. This reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps to combat climate change! Plus, you can skip out on all the plastic and styrofoam that is used to package and label standard produce. The only energy needed to get your garden vegetables into your kitchen is the energy it takes to walk out to the gate and back. And if you’re not feeling up to it, we will happily bring your vegetables right to your door!
- Reduce food waste.
Having a veggie garden helps battle food waste in two distinct ways. Firstly, we eliminate the potential for food to spoil or damage in transport. Unfortunately, a lot of produce doesn’t even make it to the shelves due to improper storage and handling. By growing your own, you can be sure each crop is handled with care! Additionally, you only have to harvest what you think you will use. Does tonight’s recipe only call for one cucumber? Easy, just grab one! And if you end up with a larger harvest than you can handle, there’s no harm in sharing. More on that later!
- It’s educational!
Vegetable gardens are the perfect medium to teach children about the environment, sustainability, nutrition, and how to cook and care for plants. As your children grow older, they may even want to care for a section of the garden by themselves! Plus, it can be a fun and rewarding activitythat allows them to connect with nature and get their bodies moving.
- Supports local wildlife.
Filling your garden with a diverse range of plants attracts a variety of pollinators and other insects that help keep your crops healthy! In fact, biodiversity is the key to a healthy and productive vegetable garden. A diverse garden discourages disease outbreaks, helps stabilizethe insect population, and is overall more resilient than one of a monoculture.
- Supports community ties.
Sharing is caring! One of the fun parts of having your own garden is sharing the harvest with your neighbors, friends, and family. Have too much zucchini? Put some on your neighbor’s doorstep. A surprise visit from a family member? Send them home with a few tomatoes. Little gestures like these are powerful, thoughtful, and tasty too!
- Enhances the aesthetics of your yard and provides a sense of tranquility.
We at Samantha’s Gardens pride ourselves on our custom approach to each and every property we work on. Our team of expert gardeners will work with you to design a custom garden that fits your property and preferences, leaving you with an eye-catching landscape that soothes your soul. The right combination of vegetables and flowers will attract the kind of critters you want to see, like birds and butterflies, while our elegant fencing will keep out the ones you don’t. All you have to do is pull up a chair and soak in the sights and sounds!
If all of this sounds appealing, we encourage you to take the leap and reap the benefits of a garden-to-table lifestyle. Even though it’s almost August, rest assured that it’s never too late to start the process. Some clients like to create a game plan with us in the fall so that we can nurture their desired plants in our greenhouse throughout the winter. This means you’ll have healthy and strong plants ready to go as soon as the Earth defrosts in the spring.
Schedule an initial consultation with us today to talk all things veggies, and we’ll work hard to ensure all of your garden dreams come true. We love working side-by-side with our clients, whether it’s to teach them or just give them a helping hand. We look forward to tailoring an approach just for you!
