The Blooming End: Reflecting on My Gardening Experience

As I wrap up my gardening learning project, this blog post is going to focus on the incredible journey it has been. At the beginning I was a little hesitant on choosing gardening being my focus for the learning project as I had just moved into a new house, am taking multiple spring classes and I knew gardening takes time and dedication. I am so happy that it was my final choice as I truly enjoyed myself through the learning experience. Here is a look back at my journey, what I have learned and the joy this project has brought me!

First I am going to share some pictures of the successful growth my garden has had. I am so proud of how well everything is growing, I can’t wait till I can start eating everything in it!!

Starting with the Basics

I began my learning project inspired by my moms beautiful garden back home at our families garden. This is what truly inspired me to learn the basics of gardening. I began doing some research online using resources like Thrive and of course Google. This research began by enriching my knowledge on understanding the steps of preparing my garden bed, planting and maintenance. These initial steps allowed my learning project to begin!

Preparing the Soil & Choosing Seeds

My next step was to learn about soil preparation and seed selection. This stage included finding out what what the right tools would be and getting the soil ready. I learned the importance of soil health and the impact it has on plant growth. The importance of creating a fertile environment for my seeds was a very crucial step.

The Most Exciting Stage: Planting

I was so excited when it was finally time to plant the seeds! Utilizing tips from various sources, including TikTok and advice from my mom, I planted a variety of vegetables and flowers. To be honest, I didn’t realize there was so many tips and tricks that could be learned just to plant some seeds. Each plant required different techniques such as planting depth, spacing, and the right conditions for each type. Planting was quite therapeutic and gave me a great sense of accomplishment!

The Importance of Maintenance

The maintenance of a garden is one of the most important things to ensure your garden stays healthy and grows properly. The learning process on this included learning proper watering techniques, the importance of weeding and regular monitoring. I discovered the delicate balance required in watering and the impact of environmental factors on a raised garden bed. Although these tasks were time consuming they were also fulfilling and underscored the responsibility that comes with gardening.

Flower Gardening

After planting my vegetable garden, I decided I didn’t want my exploration to stop there. My next adventure was going to some greenhouses and picking out some flowers so I could learn the proper techniques of potted flower gardening. Selecting the correct pots, understanding soil composition and planting flowers added another layer to my gardening knowledge. This project brought me joy as it brought some color and beauty to my yard! I will definitely be planting more pots this summer.

Focusing on the Benefits of Gardening

One of my favorite things about this learning project was being able to focus on the mental and physical benefits of gardening. From the quizzes I took and articles I read, I now know that gardening can reduce stress, boost your mood and improve overall well-being. I loved that this learning project also let me spend time outdoors as it was very refreshing and calming. I can confidently say that gardening has positively impacted my mental health as it was a great way to escape from the daily stresses in my life.

Learning From TikTok

TikTok was one of the main social media platforms that I used to learn from during this learning project experience. I enjoyed using the app so I decided to make one last video to showcase the success of my garden. TikTok is a great tool to use for short video clips and it is fun to create videos on it as there are many effects that can be added to the videos. I hope you enjoy my last learning project video 🙂

Final Thoughts on my Learning Project

As I reflect on the process of this learning project, I believe that I acquired more than just gardening skills. I discovered the benefits of gardening, patience of learning something new, a connection with nature and most importantly using different technology resources to help me learn. I enjoyed the whole process of learning how to garden (maybe not the weeding so much, lol) and each stage taught me something new. It has been an enriching experience, one that I will continue to pursue and enjoy!

Thanks for following along on my gardening journey. I hope it has inspired you to start your own garden and discover the many joys it can bring.

Happy gardening!!