Now more than ever.
Waldrop, a resident of Anaheim, California, has
an anxiety disorder. Exercise is supposed to help,
but her new job as a college biology professor
had prevented her from getting into a routine.
Her grandfather, who introduced her to
gardening by showing her how to plant seeds,
died about a year ago.
Add the global coronavirus pandemic to all that,
and it’s easy to see where her focus is these days.
“Sometimes I just like to sit and dig holes
in the quiet with my own thoughts,” she
said. “Outside, it takes my mind off. It gives
something for my hands to do. It gives you
a separate problem to think about than
whatever else is going on. It gets you off of
social media.”
Waldrop and her husband moved last summer
from New Mexico, where she didn’t have
much luck gardening in a scorching climate.
At her new home, she got rid of the lawn,
installed an irrigation system, and recently
planted dozens of tomatoes, eggplant,
peppers and other vegetables.
Over the years, Waldrop converted her
skeptical husband, who initially wondered
why digging in the dirt and moving things
around was considered fun.
After tasting his first home-grown tomatoes,
he was converted.
Families, too, are discovering that gardening
gives cooped-up kids something to do, builds
their self-esteem and brings variety to what has
suddenly become a lot of time spent together.