By William Cramp Fit Flyer staff | Mrs. Gavin, visual art teacher, said gardening makes her feel at peace with the world. She first started gardening when she was young and she got so good at it that she kept going. 

Nowadays, Mrs. Gavin gardens on her farm in New Jersey. She grows vegetables, fruits like cherries, peaches, and berries, herbs like cilantro, and flowers. 

Gardening helps her cope with anxiety and stress, she said. “A plant doesn’t care how you look. It just wants a little love,” she said. 

Researchers learned that “participating in gardening activities has a significant positive impact on health,” according to a 2017 article that appeared in the journal Preventive Medical Reports. 

Gardening takes time. Mrs. Gavin said she takes into consideration light, water, and space for the plants. She makes sure that the soil is healthy. She tills the soil, which involves breaking it up and loosening it so it is ready for planting. Then she puts little plants in the ground that grew from seeds in her greenhouse. 

Mrs. Gavin didn’t always live on a farm. She lived in New York City in the “concrete jungle,” she said. Then, the only thing she could stick her fingers in and get dirty was a bucket of mint. Still, it connected her to nature. 

The hardest part about gardening is experiencing loss, says Mrs. Gavin. “Always learning and failing—when you fail, you learn something, but every year is a new year, a new chance to try again.” 

Her favorite thing about gardening is singing to her plants. She also likes to watch the dragonflies play tag. 

Her advice to anyone who wants to garden is, “You can do something in your yard or in a tub. Flowers and plants grow pretty much everywhere. You might not get what you expect but you learn something.”