In the Garden with Nicole: The Love of Gardening

Welcome to the first edition of In the Garden with Nicole. Nicole Crocker will be writing a monthly column focused on gardening. 

“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.”

–Alfred Austin

Hi there — I’m Nicole and I love flowers. I’m so excited to have this little section of Lowell’s First Look. I’m always up for talking about my favorite subject and share my love of growing!

Many of you know me as the Lowell Flower Lady — I grow and sell specialty cut flowers at Buddy & Bean Flower Farm here in Lowell, and you can find me out in our flower field most days from early spring through late fall. And it’s not just because I’m a little bit obsessed with growing flowers. Over the years, I’ve found my love of growing goes far beyond a big harvest or a beautifully maintained yard; there are a lot of other bonus benefits to gardening that might actually surprise you.

Studies have shown that gardening — whether it’s veggie, flowers, or just working on the landscaping in your yard — has a wide range of positive side effects, including reduction in depression and anxiety, as well as an increase in quality of life, happiness and sense of community.

Oh, and digging in the dirt actually makes you happy. I’m not joking. It’s science!

The dirt on gardening. 

Dirt itself makes you happy. It’s true! Soil contains a microbe called Mycobacterium vaccae. Scientists have discovered that exposure to this friendly microscopic wonder has the same affect on our neurons as drugs like Prozac. You read that right — digging in the dirt may actually stimulate serotonin production, which makes you happier and more relaxed. (And last I checked, digging in the dirt is free!) In studies, cancer patients who gardened all reported less stress and better overall quality of life.

You don’t even need to go gloveless — just stirring things up is enough to release the microbes into the air. This happens when you dig and when you weed.

Is it all the dirt that fuels our love of gardening? The short answer is no. I mean, I’m sure this teeny little microbe absolutely helps. But the benefit of a dirt-induced serotonin boost is just the beginning.

Work it. 

This one may be a little obvious — gardening is great exercise. Spend a day in early spring spreading mulch and digging holes and you’ll see what I mean. It’s a surprising amount of physical labor — I spend weeks prepping soil by hand, planting seedlings and pulling weeds. But even if you’re not growing large-scale like me, picking up a gardening hobby is going to get you outside and moving around. Trust me, once you’re hooked you’ll be out there every day poking around and pulling weeds … which brings me to my next point.

See ya, stress. 

Feeling stressed out? Yeah, aren’t we all — it’s been a crazy couple of years. Whenever I’m on edge, I head out to the flower field and I weed. Oh my gosh, I’m telling you, weeding is so darn satisfying. All that pent up frustration you’re carrying around? Take it out on our old friend crabgrass and its various nefarious associates. Spend a few minutes hand-weeding out your feels and though your problems aren’t exactly going to disappear, you’re going to feel SO much better! The combo of channeling any stress into pulling up unwanted weeds and then the satisfaction of seeing your garden looking all neat and tidy is a recipe for a calmer-feeling you.

(Side note — In general I’m a fan of weeds, AKA native plants. Our “grass” is really just weeds we mow down, and natives are left to thrive on our farm in many places. But if I let the crab grass take over the flower field I’m not going to have dahlias. And that would definitely reduce my personal serotonin levels!)

Gardening is just good for the soul. 

I know. That’s a dramatic statement. But there’s something especially satisfying about cultivating your little patch of the earth, about putting in the effort and reaping the benefits of all that hard work. The more time you spend working in the garden, you just might find that your garden is your happy place. It’s your little sanctuary where you can go for the aforementioned stress relief or to have some quiet moments to yourself.

But even beyond that, you might find that you’ve gone from being a person who just sort of exists on the planet to someone who helps shape it — and you have the opportunity to shape it for the better. Every back yard is teeming with life — pollinators, birds, and yes even spiders and snakes. All of these will benefit from your garden, and suddenly you find yourself making a small but measurable positive impact on the world … and yourself too.

(I could talk about this all day, but I’ll leave myself something to say for future articles.)

If you have a burning gardening question or thoughts on what you’d like to hear me ramble about, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Nicole Crocker is a specialty cut flower farmer and owner of Buddy and Bean Flower Farm in Lowell. You can find her flower arrangements on her roadside stand when they’re in season. Connect with her on Facebook or Instagram, or at www.buddyandbeanflowers.com.