By Amanda Mack

Witnessing the slow greening of the earth in spring brings a palpable mood shift for people of the northern plains. It is a soul-stirring phenomenon that spring-cleans the mind. This sense of renewal lives on through the growing season as those little seeds wondrously transform into flowers and fruit.

Whether you plant for the beauty of flowers or the bounty of edible produce, gardening is a way to connect to the earth, connect with fellow gardeners and annually witness the miracle of the long-awaited growing season.

A source of comfort
If you are a gardener, you likely began to fantasize about this year’s garden before last fall’s first frost. Living in a climate with a limited growing season, those visions get us through the winter.

“One of the things gardeners always say is ‘next year I’m going to…’” says Elizabeth Gross, a retired school principal from Bismarck. “I’ve heard that from so many people.”

LoAnn Fettig, a salon owner from Bismarck, talks about how fun it is to receive gardening magazines in the depths of winter. “I get comfort knowing that somewhere things are growing.”

Karen Knoop, a retired schoolteacher from Bismarck, says, “I love to order something new to have it waiting to go in the ground” as she pulls a mail order bag of bulbs out of her tote. “I enjoy researching new varieties over the winter.”

Going to greenhouses in the spring is another way to wait out the long dormant season. “You don’t even have to buy anything. Just seeing the container arrangements is inspiring,” says Fettig.

Feeding the soul
Gardening has a meditative quality to it. People can be easily consumed by the stillness or focused attention it allows them.

“Gardening brings a calming balance to a hectic world,” explains Marilee Toman, owner of the Dutch Mill Florist in Bismarck. “You can go into the garden and kind of go in and escape from other things that are out there. It’s very peaceful.”

Gina Phillips, a librarian at Bismarck High School, says, “I’ve come to appreciate the faith it takes to put a seed in the ground, nurture it, and believe it will come to fruition because that’s how nature intended it. It helps me practice patience, and fills me with a sense of awe.”

But gardening is hard work. The daily tending that needs to be done is constant during the growing season. Still, gardeners say that’s what keeps them coming back for more.

“In the quiet meditative space, when you’re doing redundant work, like pulling weeds, working the soil, pruning deadheads, standing with a hose, there is room to breathe,” reflects Beth Nodland, an archaeologist from Bismarck.

Cissie Quinn, a retired forester from Hazen, adds, “There is definitely a Zen to gardening.”

Feeding the senses
Just the simple act of getting one’s hands dirty is a draw for many. Gross admits that she is one of those gardeners who starts out with gloves on but inevitably tosses them aside to experience the sensation of the soil on her hands.

“Gardening appeals to all of the senses,” Gross surmises. “Visually, touch, you hear it in some ways – the rustle of the flowers. That’s part of the renewal aspect of gardening… There is something really medicinal about that, some life giving force in it.”

“It takes over your mind,” Knoop offers. “The process of watching things change gets all of the senses working.”

With such a short growing season, many gardeners long for the vivid colors that flower gardening brings.

According to Knoop, her preferences and those of her friends have changed over time. “I tend my vegetables better when I have flowers around. We have all evolved more into flowers. I’m into orange this year.”

“That’s the thing with flowers,” says Toman who adores color and is primarily a flower gardener. “You can cut them, you can bring them in the house. It’s so nice to share. You can give flowers to friends.”

Feeding your family
If none of the aforementioned reasons get a person into the garden, fresh food from one’s backyard may just do the trick.

Justin Data, a technology project manager from Bismarck, says, “I fairly dislike the act of gardening. But the end product is so darned good I can’t resist subjecting myself to the misery of the dirty work. Ultimately, few things beat stepping outside to pick your food and then eating it within minutes.”

“The joy of eating your own food and sharing it with others [compels me to garden],” says Quinn. “Going from a little seed packet to a bushel of produce is truly a miracle of life.”

Vegetable gardeners also have the satisfaction of knowing how their food was grown and how it got to their table.

Jeff Tickle of Minneapolis longs for the opportunity to grow his own food. He says, “As soon as I get a house with my own yard, I will garden to have fresh organic vegetables. No chemicals or nasty stuff allowed in my garden!”

Tracy Wanek, who maintains a garden plot at the Bismarck Community Gardens off South Washington Street, says, “I want to feed my family safe, delicious, and low carbon-footprint food.” She adds that one of her favorite things about gardening is “communion with other farmers – secret swapping, story sharing and good down-home problem solving.”

Strike up a conversation with a long-time gardener and it’s just a matter of time before the secrets begin to flow. For example, Knoop suggests adding herbs to your containers. “I throw chives or parsley in with my geraniums. Pansies can go in with your salads. Calendula is another edible flower you can grow in your garden.”

Connecting with the past
Often gardeners can trace their introduction to gardening to a person or a place. Those memories live on in the garden.

Gross reminisces about her early years as a gardener. “As a young woman, I lived near an elderly woman who was a magnificent gardener. She taught me so much about gardening…I would suspect that everyone in this neighborhood has some of [her] anemones.”

“Our neighbor Millie, who is now 95, taught me about perennials,” continues Gross. “I was open to learning about [gardening] and had the good fortune of having those wise women as neighbors.”

Toman remembers going to her grandparent’s Minnesota farm as a child. While her siblings would be chasing the goats and the pigs, she would be in the garden with her grandma eating snap peas and chasing butterflies. She has woven wild orchid transplants from the farm into her Bismarck garden to keep those memories alive.

It turns out, there are no garden-variety gardeners. Whatever one’s reasons – meditative, economical, for color or for solace, another growing season is here and gardeners everywhere are out digging their fingers in the dirt.