not more than a month ago, rob and i applied (and got – yay!) a plot at the fenway victory gardens. i’ve been wanting one of those plots for over a year, so this was a huge deal. the application process isn’t terribly difficult, you just have to make sure you’ll be available for their “new application sessions.” but before even getting into that small-ish detail, i probably should tell you why you should apply in the first place. 

1. you’ll get fresh fruits and veggies

number one reason i wanted a plot of land all this time is so that i could grown my own produce. i remember telling my mom, “all i want is to be able to pick some tomatoes and cucumbers from my garden and make a legitimately farm-to-table israeli salad.” (still in the process of achieving that dream.) but really, think about how many delicious (and cheap) salads you can make!

2. you’ll get a full workout without the membership fee 

imagine a 5″ girl with tiny arms who never, ever goes to the gym. got it? great. now imagine her having to roll a wheelbarrow full of soil from one end of the park to the other. starting to see the problem? yeah, i did too. turns out that to actually create your dream garden, you need much more than your imagination. (who knew, amiright?) over the past month, i’ve had to transport huge wheelbarrows, pick up thousands of large rocks, and shovel for hours. my arms, back, and legs are very thankful for their daily workout.

3. you’ll understand the meaning of, “where there’s a will, there’s a way”

when we first got our garden, densely packed with trash, invasive plants, and foot-tall flowers, i thought, “there’s no way we’re going to pull this off.” yet, every time i left the garden after a few hours of work i’d realized just how much progress we had made. before this, my only real gardening experience was over ten years ago when i “planted” a mango seed in my backyard. to no surprise, it never grew. but this time, i mean to finish what a started. and i will.

4. you’ll break and nail… and not care

say whaaat?! i promise by the third time your beautifully manicured nail breaks, you’re no longer going to care. ditch your cute clothes and girly stuff back home. here, you’re going to want to get dirty. why? because it’s fun! remember when you were a little kid who didn’t care to go down a mudslide with their new clothes on? let’s go back to those good old time, even if it’s just for a few times a week.

5. you’ll truly be “one with nature”

during my first day in the garden i saw a few adorable bunnies, many worms, and a mouse. the bunnies and the worms were nothing. but the mouse… ew. i surprisingly didn’t jump or scream when i first saw it jump over my hand. i simply turned around to rob and said, “yup, that’s a mouse” and then walked away. truth be told, i didn’t want to look like a wimp in front of our garden neighbors, but inside, i was dying. by now i’ve seen a few more, dealt with worms the size of my finger, and encountered very interesting little insects – so yeah, nature and i, we get each other.

6. you’ll *actually* help the environment… rather than just say you will 

are you going to walk the walk or just talk the talk? don’t just tell me you want to save the earth, do something about it. growing plants will help reduce carbon dioxide in the air, remove chemicals from water in the ground, and add oxygen to the atmosphere. and big picture here: more home gardens = fewer shopping trips to the supermarket. think about how much energy is used to get all the tasty produce we see at our grocery stores? now think about how much we can reduce it if we started producing more edible plants. plus, you’ll never want to pollute again after having to pick up 50+ candy wrappers that flew into your newly-plotted garden.

still haven’t convinced you? maybe the fenway victory gardens can – click to read about them.

have you gardened before? share some of your tips & tricks in the comment section below.