By Staff Writer: Grace Anders
During the tumultuous weather of Wisconsin spring, I set out to learn what inspires people to garden. Throughout the month of April, the National Weather Service has issued warnings for tornados, flash floods, severe thunderstorms, and hailstorms across Vernon County. At times, these conditions have hindered my ability to venture into my community and talk to people about their gardens. The plants, however, have been unhindered and uninhibited by mother nature’s volatile temper.
By mid-April, tulips and daffodils were in full bloom, illuminating the neighborhoods with dashes of bright red and yellow and reminding us of spring’s rejuvenation. Overwintered spinach and garlic were reawakening and beginning to pop up through the soil. As I talked to people about their gardens, I gleaned that gardening gives people hope and a sense of fulfillment.
Spring thunderstorms had just swept in as I met with Arwyn Wildingway to talk about her unique front yard garden. We huddled on her front steps, which she enclosed in plexiglass to form a greenhouse, while the sheets of rain faded into trickling drops. Plants adorned the cement steps, flourishing in the warmth and light of the greenhouse entryway.
Wildingway uses every inch of her front yard to grow flowers, herbs and vegetables, including the boulevard. “I like to train my garden to feed me.” She said, meaning she lets the plants go through their natural life cycles, dropping seeds that will pop up in the following season. Because of this, her garden has a wild and untamed appearance.
“When I’m in my garden you know I’m good.” Wildingway says, describing how gardening brings her happiness because when she’s in her garden, she’s making something just a little bit better.
On a clear, bright April morning, I spoke with Viroqua resident Rose Bruce, a forest ecologist who works at a charter elementary school where she shares her knowledge and passion about natural ecosystems with young minds. At home, her garden is primarily native forest plants and grasses- a pocket of Wisconsin’s aboriginal landscape tucked into a city street. As we walked through her garden, Bruce identified the numerous native plant species with a trained ecologist’s eye while her daughter pointed out bleeding hearts and violets.
“This is Samara’s cover crop.” Bruce said as she and her daughter knelt next to a bed of thick bladed grass. Although the plethora of native plants in her garden can be difficult to contain, they provide a wildly imaginative landscape for learning about ancient plant medicine, growth cycles and being one with nature.
The coolness of a spring evening was setting in as Ingrid Kelley gave me a tour of her urban farm-like garden where she cultivates a variety of edible plants. As the tour took us from bee hives to fruit trees to the skeletons of last year’s vegetable crops that would soon be dug up to make space for new growth, she shared why she loves to garden: “After working inside all day, I just want to be outside and feel the grass on my feet.” She said, explaining how she finds the time to maintain her garden oasis while juggling work and parenting
With each garden I walked through, I caught a glimpse of the peace and tranquility these outdoor spaces provide. In a time-crunched, fast-moving world, gardening is a chance to slow down and practice patience while plants operate on their own time. According to an article published in the National Library of Medicine based on umbrella review and meta-analysis of 40 studies, gardening has a significant positive impact on well-being. The conversations I had with gardeners in my community echoed these findings: overall, the people I spoke to made time in their schedules and space in their yards for gardening, because it increased their happiness, calmed their nervous systems, and provided an abundance of educational opportunities.