My love affair with gardening started by accident. It began with a handful of papaya seeds which I threw into a pot of pomelo in the middle of the hard lockdown. As a hypertensive patient, papaya is one of the fruits I eat with regularity and I thought nothing of throwing seeds onto soil.

A few weeks and a couple of rain showers later, I noticed seedlings blossoming from that singular pot. They looked pretty. At the time, I thought they were weeds. But after seeking advice from green thumbs and searching the Internet, I came to the conclusion that they were papaya seedlings and quickly became fascinated by how they grew every single day. That’s how it started, my love affair with gardening. Many sacks of soil later and a batch of lavender which died on me most horrifically, I am still in love.

Here, some things I’ve learned after hours of puttering around soil underneath the sun.

#1 It’s good to make a mess. You cannot not make a mess if you’re into gardening. Preparing the soil is backbreaking work. Yes, magtanim ay ‘di biro. Maghapong nakayuko! Loosening up the soil is important so that your seeds can make its way towards sunshine. You dig holes, plant the seeds, and cover up them holes again.

Preparing the ground for my seedlings, I was on all fours digging, planting, covering. I was all sweaty afterwards, and dirty too, but I was happy to sweat and glad to be dirty.

Unfortunately, modern living has developed in us an aversion towards dirt or getting dirty. It’s not uncommon to avoid certain people or specific situations or even opportunities because of the spectre of messiness. We want things orderly and clean, and frank conversations or complicated plans are anything but. If we don’t make a mess, however, we may actually be robbing ourselves the possibility of experiencing something beautiful like the blossoming of a flower, the revival of a relationship, or the fulfillment of a dream.

#2 Good things take time. Ah yes, it takes times for everything to bloom, whether it’s a flower, a career, or a romance. I would gladly kiss the hand of any farmer I meet for his patience and perseverance. Never in my life have I ever appreciated our farmers more.

Having nurtured my seedlings into maturity, I thought I could grow other things. I turned my sight on the kangkong, because we love sinigang. I had way too many beer cans lying around, and used those to grow my kangkong cuttings in. Soju bottles work well, too. But here’s the thing, it took almost two months to grow kangkong into harvesting size. Of course, they were the most delicious kangkong I had ever tasted but still, two months.

Gardening is a marathon. Phew!

#3 It ain’t gonna happen if you don’t get your ass off the couch. Sigh. So very true, applicable to most anything, but specially gardening.

I was gifted with a tub of kamantigue seeds, and I dreamt of my yard being covered with their flowers. But for the longest time, it was all I did, dream. For one reason or another, I couldn’t find the time to get around to sowing those seeds. Really, I don’t know why.

But when I finally did sow those seeds, they grew quite quickly. Kamantigue are fast-growing plants, and before long, I was able to enjoy pink flowers in my yard. It was a sight to see.

Enjoy!