I have always loved the thought of growing my own vegetables and having my own little herb patch, but I have never been much of a gardener. I have had plenty of indoor plants over the years, but gardening was never something I had really done before.

The chilli plant I once bought from Bunnings stopped flowering and producing chillies soon after I brought it home. Then there was the bougainvillea tree I bought, hoping it would eventually turn into one of those beautiful arches you see in Santorini. That was more of a dream than a reality.

So, until recently, I never really thought I had it in me to garden. But I always loved the idea of having lots of plants and trees in my backyard.

I got into gardening about nine months ago, and it happened because of my darling kitty, Jasmine.

She had always loved the backyard. Even when she was a kitten, she would spend hours outside, and when we returned home, she continued to love being out there. A few weeks after she came home, we found out that she was very sick and didn’t have much time left with us.

We did everything we could to make the rest of her journey as comfortable as possible. Despite being sick, she still wanted to go outside first thing in the morning and spend hours in the garden, sometimes in the sun and sometimes in the shade, watching the birds and insects.

Wanting to spend more time with her in the garden was what started my gardening journey. I began spending hours outside, preparing the planter boxes for new plants, weeding and looking after my little girl at the same time. She was never too far away from me.

When she passed away a few weeks later, going into the garden gave me comfort. It reminded me of the precious time I had spent with her. The garden became a place where I could feel close to her, and in many ways, it became a place that helped me heal from the grief of losing her.

More than six months later, my heart still aches, but I am determined to make the most of this spring and summer and turn the garden into a place that she would have loved to spend time in.

Learning to Garden

During autumn, I spent a lot of time in the garden, hoping to sow my winter seeds in time. Well, it didn’t exactly go to plan.

Firstly, I put far too many seeds into those little seed trays. When it came time to replant them, it looked nothing like the beautiful gardening videos you see online. I had to separate all the little seedlings, which took ages, and then plant them individually. It was frustrating, and I was losing my patience. But I still wanted to finish what I had started and see how they would grow.

And that is one of the first things gardening taught me: to slow down and be patient.

Throughout my gardening journey, there have been plenty of moments when I wanted to give up. Giving up would have been the easiest thing to do. But there is something incredibly satisfying about planting something, waiting, waiting some more, and then finally seeing those first little sprouts appear.

It brings a kind of joy and excitement that I didn’t expect.

The Little Harvests

Some potatoes I had bought a while ago had started sprouting, so I decided to plant them in one of the empty pots I had. I left them in a corner of the garden and, a few months later, noticed that the plant was starting to dry up. I knew it was time to dig them out.

To my surprise, we got enough potatoes for a couple of meals, and I ended up making a delicious potato salad. According to my husband, they were the best potatoes he had ever eaten.

I don’t know if they really were the best potatoes he had ever eaten, but knowing that they had grown in our own backyard made them taste a little more special.

There was something incredibly satisfying about planting something, caring for it and eventually bringing it into our kitchen.

Then Came the Possums

During autumn, I also started planting winter vegetables from seeds — radishes, broccoli, kale, carrots and lettuce.

I had replanted them and was taking care of them when I went away for three weeks. When I came back, all my lettuce had been eaten by something. The parsley plant was bare, and my kale had been eaten right down to the bud.

Seeing the damage was incredibly disheartening. I had put so much time and effort into planting and caring for everything, not to mention the money I had spent.

Initially, I thought it might have been a rabbit. But the night after we returned, even more damage was done.

I went to Bunnings and bought some material used for chicken coops and put it around the plants. It worked for a few days, but then I realised it wasn’t working anymore.

There was no way a rabbit could have jumped that high. That’s when I realised it was the family of possums living in our pine tree that had been feasting on my plants.

The plants were being eaten almost completely, and after trying a few different ways to stop them, I pretty much gave up.

So, for the rest of winter, I barely went near the garden. I just let it sit.

Starting Again

Now that spring has arrived, I want to start working on my garden again.

I want to turn it into a garden that my little kitty would have loved to spend time in. I want to grow more vegetables, learn more about gardening and, hopefully, get a little better at it along the way.

My gardening experience so far has taught me that it involves a lot of hard work. It has also made me appreciate just how much time, money, effort and patience farmers put into producing the food that we eat every day.

I have experienced plenty of failures in my little garden. The basil plants that never seem to grow into those lush green bushes you see on Instagram. The radishes I planted far too close together, left to grow out of control, and eventually had to throw away. The kale, snow peas and lettuce that became a feast for the possums. But strangely, all of these failures have made me enjoy gardening even more. They have taught me to let go of control and perfection.

What Gardening Has Given Me

There is something about using your hands to touch the soil, caring for plants and watching them slowly grow that awakens your senses and brings you closer to nature.

Gardening means learning something new every season. Sometimes you get it right, and sometimes you don’t.

But you keep learning. You keep planting. You keep trying.

Gardening has truly taught me to slow down, be patient and enjoy the process.

And there is something incredibly satisfying about walking into the garden, picking something you’ve grown yourself and bringing it straight into the kitchen.

But personally, gardening has become so much more than a place to grow and harvest food. It has become a place that has helped me heal and given me hope for all the good things that are still to come.

Seeds don’t turn into a harvest overnight.

Growth takes time.

And so do healing, change and becoming the person we’re meant to be.

Just like plants need water, sunlight and consistent care, our lives need dedication, patience, trust in the process and a little self-compassion.

Gardening has given me a reason to go outside and spend time in nature. It has given me something to look forward to, a break from the screen and a sense of accomplishment.

But most of all, it has given me joy. A kind of quiet, simple joy that I didn’t know I was missing. And perhaps that’s what I love most about gardening.

You plant something without knowing exactly what will happen. You care for it, you wait, you learn from it and, eventually, something grows.

Sometimes the harvest is a few potatoes. Sometimes it’s a handful of herbs. And sometimes, it’s something much bigger — a little more patience, a little more hope, and a place that slowly starts to feel like home.

Whether you’re new to gardening or have been doing it for years, I’d love to hear about your experience. What has gardening taught you, or what do you love most about it? Share your thoughts in the comments