I had grown up in a modest suburban home, and to match the house, there was a modest garden where my mom would grow rhubarb, beans and sometimes a few green onions and a tomato plant or two. She'd started out slightly more ambitious, but had quickly learned that vegetables did not grow well on the west side of the house and planted some shade-loving perennials there instead.

Though our garden was small, we lived in a community surrounded by farms, and the majority of our produce in the summer months came directly from those farms. We would stop at roadside stands and visit farms to pick our own berries. They were a part of our everyday life, and knowing the farmers by name and what season the vegetables and fruit would be ready was commonplace for me.

After I got married and had kids, I knew that I wanted my children to capture some of that same experience, whether through interacting with farmers at our local farmers market or letting them experience how satisfying it was to go pick green beans for dinner, 15 minutes before you eat them. We started small, planting herb gardens in pots the first year, just as we had in our rental properties. We moved to putting in a large raised-bed garden that we quickly filled mostly with a zucchini plant and some out-of-control tomatoes that we had trouble keeping up with they produced so fast.

Two more raised beds later, a raspberry patch and 30 new strawberry plants, we are now "real" gardeners. Whatever it means to be a "real" gardener, I have the bug, and I'm not looking back. Next year's plans are already in the works, and it looks like I need more space yet again.

Why do we choose to garden?

Sure, there is the satisfaction of seeing something grow, but there is also the disappointment of seeing your plants die from weather, disease and pests. Then what is it that I find so beneficial in growing my food in the ground rather than picking it up in the supermarket?

Do you have a garden?