Spring is here! The weather is getting warmer, and that winter snow is now rain. With the rain comes the growth of flowers and other plants, and that provides us with everyone’s favorites, pollen and allergies. However, that growth of plants is so beautiful and puts a smile on people’s faces. The phrase, “April showers bring May flowers,” is both a factual statement and one that is psychological. “April showers bring May flowers,” is also a metaphor that can mean something different from the precipitation and plant growth of April and May. The phrase alludes to the fact that even through rough times, good will prevail.

Gardening is an art that can be beautiful, practical, and easy to perform. It is an activity that people of all ages can do. In my life and the life of Olga Booth (80 years old), the art of gardening was established during our childhoods. When I asked her about her history with gardening, she recalled, “In grade school, we had a gardening project. It was during childhood I started gardening.” This response struck me as reminiscent of my own history with gardening. I have been able to experience gardening with my mom, always having some sort of garden. Also, I remember in 2nd grade when my teacher assigned us a few gardening projects, including growing a sunflower.

Conversely, some people start gardening when they get older. When I asked Opal Evans (46 years of age) and Kent Booth (age 75) about their history with growing plants, both supplied similar answers. Opal explained, “I remember getting some pots when I was single so that was like (in my) 20s. I don’t really remember what I grew.” Kent had this to say, “So, I didn’t do it as a child, I didn’t do it as a young man, I did it later in life.” The age range for people to start gardening is one of the amazing things about it. You can start now or in the future, or maybe you have a full garden, already.

There are a bountiful variety of plants, crops, and flowers all over the world. According to a blog published in 2020, “there are 391,000 types of plants on earth that are currently recognized to scientific research.” With all

the variety, the options are abundant. However, some plants are easier to grow than others. Also, there are many factors in successfully planting anything. You must have the right type of soil, the right amount of sunlight, the right amount of water, and even plant food. All these factors depend on what you are growing.

With that in mind, you may wonder, “Well, what plants are going to allow me to do the smallest amount of work? Which plants are the easiest to grow?” The answers to these questions can vary depending on where you live, but when I asked Opal Evans, Olga and Kent Booth about what plants they thought were easiest, they all had similar opinions. The common crop that they all considered easy to grow was tomato. Also, some flowers that got consideration were bulbs like tulips, daffodils, or irises and impatiens. The consensus was that these plants are resilient and need little care to grow. Resilience is something that we all should have. We must get up after we have gotten knocked down by life.

The art of gardening has an immense number of benefits. The memories that you gain through gardening can inspire, make you laugh or cry, smile or grimace. The response from the Booths was both amusing and upsetting. They recounted, “It laid there, and it grew and grew and grew, it overmatured. In the case of the zucchini, the skin got so tough that we couldn’t eat it!”

Also, Opal shared that most of her memories derived from failed gardening and the sight of her mother gardening when she was a child. That is the thing about gardening, it can draw you closer to those you love. It can be a great learning experience filled with ups and downs. Really, it is a good representation of what life is like. Sometimes you work at something, and it works out, but other times, it all falls apart. The only way to get better results in gardening and life is to learn from the mistakes.

Furthermore, gardening is an opportunity to grow your creative mind. Before, there was a reference to how many plants there are on Earth. Be creative and find some that are cool to you. Not only does being creative help with brain stimulation, but it will also improve your mental health and your physical health.

So, what are you waiting for? April showers have come, and now it’s time for May flowers.

How many plants are there on Earth?