31 Best Garden Quotes
Still trying to find some motivation to work in your garden? What if I told you there are many words of wisdom, people, and books, as well as historians and literary masters that can inspire you?
Whether you are not much of a gardener, you are genuinely passionate about this hobby, or you just want to learn more, then these 31 quotes will inspire you.
It was a bit of work to find the most motivating garden sayings. However, I am sure that some will be funny, some will be thought-provoking, and some full of wisdom.
Keep on reading to find 31 of the top garden quotes, with a little explanation for each.
31 Garden Quotes to Keep On Your Mind
Ready? Read the full list and, in the end, pick your favorite garden quotes:
“No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of Earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden.” – Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson explains the culture of gardening as the most relaxing and enjoyable activity for many of us.
“Earth laughs in flowers”. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
This is one of the most beautiful quotes describing gardening. This unique impersonation likens Earth’s laugh with a full field of flowers. This is how Earth smiles to us by offering multiple natural colors.
“The best place to find God is in a garden. You can dig for him there.” – George Bernard Shaw
Where else to rest, gather yourself, and talk to the divinity than in Its beautiful creation?
“Ol’ man Simon planted a diamond. Grew himself a garden the likes of none. Sprouts all growin’ comin’ up glowin’ Fruit of jewels all shinin’ in the sun. Colors of the rainbow. See the sun and the rain grow sapphires and rubies on ivory vines, Grapes of jade, just ripenin’ in the shade, just ready for the squeezin’ into green jade wine.” – Shel Silverstein
This quote reminds people of how gardening is pure magic. From a little, simple seed, can grow beautiful diamonds (“flowers”, sapphires and rubies), “fruits”, beautifully embraced by sun and drops of rain.
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses”. – Abraham Lincoln
This is the pure perspective in everything, right? Instead of complaining about something that disturbs you, such as the rose thorns, you’d better see the beauty of it. Those thorns defend the mesmerizing rose bushes.
“All gardeners know better than other gardeners.” – Chinese Proverb
Each parent knows their child better than anybody else. Gardeners have their gardening method and take care of their “green kids”. Never disagree, but learn from them.
“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” – Cicero
There are multiple ways to interpret this saying. However, from my perspective, books and a garden full of colors are both something to feed your mind and soul. Learn from books, love the plants, and load your soul with these divine treasures.
“I don’t like formal gardens. I like wild nature. It’s just the wilderness instinct in me, I guess.” – Walt Disney
Some might enjoy the perfectly lined up plants and gardens, while others prefer wildness. However, you can create your wild garden and let your imagination free.
“Gardening is how I relax. It’s another form of creating and playing with colors.” – Oscar de la Renta
One of the most admirable designers worldwide, Oscar de la Renta compares his fashion creation with gardening. Both are a matter of creativity, dreaming, and relaxation, right?
“Gardens are not made by singing ‘Oh, how beautiful,’ and sitting in the shade.” – Rudyard Kipling
Don’t just sit and observe a beautiful garden from the faraway. Enjoy the perfume of flowers, help nature grow, sit in the middle of it, and breathe.
“It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees.” – George Eliot
Don’t expect life to be full of pinky stuff, when you can bring pinkiness into your daily life so easy. At the proper level of the word, plant more pink and green, and then your life will be full color.
“God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures.” – Francis Bacon
Going back to God’s creation, God first created the sky, earth, and nature. So how can you be closer to divinity than walking and enjoying its first creation?
“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece”. – Claude Monet
The French Painter considers his garden the masterpiece of his life, despite all the art he has created. What better way to eulogize nature than putting all your creative skills in it?
“Gardening is not a rational act.” – Margaret Atwood
One of the most famous contemporary authors, Margaret Atwood, considers gardening as not a rational act. Her saying makes you think that gardening is truly spiritual, a passion.
“Kiss of the sun for pardon. Song of the birds for mirth. You’re closer to God’s heart in a garden than anyplace else on earth.” –Dorothy Frances Gurney
Every time you feel blue or need some hope, find your inner self in nature. Simple elements like the kiss of the sun, the birds’ singing, or a colorful garden can “heal” many wounds.
“Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same.” –Helen Keller
What better way to compare the unique spirit of love but with the sweet fragrance and the colorful vibe of a rich garden?
“Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.” – Oscar Wilde
What a beautiful metaphor, isn’t it? What would life be without love, which is the most precious value in life? Nothing but a garden without sun and drops of rain.
“Gardening is learning, learning, learning. That’s the fun of them. You’re always learning.” – Helen Mirren
Considering there are millions of plants and insects in this world, each of them with their particularities, gardening also means a lot of learning.
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” – Audrey Hepburn
Iconic Audrey Hepburn compared gardening with believing in tomorrow. Believe that the little seed you are planting will be tomorrow a beautiful plant, or it will blossom overnight.
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” – Vincent van Gogh
If van Gogh himself said these words, nobody could not deny them. Every little plant, every little place in nature is beauty, miracle, life.”
“Gardening is a humbling experience.” – Martha Stewart
For some might not be a big deal, but gardening is a whole experience. More humble than other adventures, but still, you learn a lot. You cry, you smile, you fail, and then give life again.
“Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.” -Henry David Thoreau
This is so true. Nature allows you to know it from a very close point of view. It always invites you to admire its beauty, without asking anything in return, but love.
“Clarity is the most important thing. I can compare clarity to pruning in gardening. You know, you need to be clear. If you are not clear, nothing is going to happen. You have to be clear. Then you have to be confident about your vision. And after that, you just have to put a lot of work in.” – Diane von Furstenberg
One of the human communication skills is compared to the act of removing old branches or stems from the garden.
It’s like removing all the unnecessary words and expressions from your usual language to make yourself more accurate in speaking. What a beautiful comparison, isn’t it?
“Almost every person, from childhood, has been touched by the untamed beauty of wildflowers”. – Lady Bird Johnson
This quote highlights the omnipresence of nature, with its wild fauna and flora in your lives. It’s almost impossible not to enjoy from childhood to senior age the beauty of it.
“There is nothing pleasanter than spading when the ground is soft and damp.” – John Steinbeck
There is nothing more satisfying for a gardener than working the ground when it is smooth, perfectly damp, and soft. It’s like the ground welcomes you to work and care for it.
“Look deep into nature, and you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein
Our society, the rules of it, are strongly connected to nature. It’s like the Fibonacci sequence, so present in every tree or flower’s body. Understanding nature is a better perspective over the society we live in.
“Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts.“ – Sigmund Freud
If you find yourself sad, stressed, and you are looking for a moment of meditation, look at nature.
Every single piece of it has no bad emotions to share, but peace. Nature is the perfect way and place to reconnect with yourself and to think of nothing else but you.
“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” – Dale Carnegie
I personally see this quote as a motivational statement, a hint for living. It is useless to permanently dream about something big when you have so much to enjoy every day.
Dale Carnegie compares people’s big hopes with a huge garden of roses they only dream about. Why not enjoy what you already have, like the roses that are blooming every day in front of you, and be thankful for the present moments.
“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.” May Sarton
In daily life, people should stop rushing and sit for a moment to enjoy what they have. This is why May Starton considers gardening the perfect time for resting, slowing down the daily habits’ chaotic rhythm, and thank nature for this little help.
“To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wildflower / Hold infinity in the palms of your hand and eternity in an hour.” – William Blake
How beautiful are these lyrics? A small grain of sand can mean the world for some, while the flowers express the beauty of heaven.
“Every time I imagine a garden in an architectural setting, it turns into a magical place. I think of gardens I have seen, that I believe I have seen, that I long to see, surrounded by simple walls, columns, arcades, or the facades of buildings – sheltered places of great intimacy where I want to stay for a long time.” – Peter Zumthor
A garden is not only the place where you are admiring the beautiful nature but also a way to reconnect with your intimacy. As Peter Zumthor declares, it would be a pity just to sit in a garden and think about the daily problems and not to enjoy the intimacy of this place.
Why is Gardening Therapeutic?
Based on the inspirational garden quotes above, it’s interesting to mention what makes people find gardening the best therapy.
For those of you who never tried this relaxing activity, these reasons might be the starting point for a new passion.
On the other hand, already passionate ones might find themselves in the following explanations:
Gardening offers people a sense of responsibility
From the very beginning of planting a seed to the final flowers, trees, or fruits, the act of having to care for plants is a way of assuming responsibility.
Learn how to care for them, use different techniques, permanently watch them grow, and, finally, appreciate nature much more than before.
Gardening makes people nurturers
It does not matter the age when you start gardening, either if you are male or female, child, or senior. The simple act of gardening and taking care of plants underlines your need to be nurturers.
Gardening makes people connect with other living things
The act of gardening is a gentle reminder for each person that people are strongly connected to nature. Humans are not alone and unique in this universe, but form a union with nature.
Gardening is a therapeutic way to treat depression
Gardening is beneficial and self-absorbent of depression symptoms. Once you focus on the great outdoors, you get the courage to be less insular and fight against sadness.
Gardening develops collective skills
It is studied that group gardening is a soft, gradual way to bring people together and help them escape prison mental issues. This type of therapy centers on collective and aspirations skills rather than teaching individual skill development.
Gardening helps people relax and let go of negative emotions
Gardening is for many people a great way to escape the daily problems. Furthermore, it enables you to escape from other people. As contradictory as it may sound with the previous point, well, sometimes you need to be alone and reconnect with the real you.
When planting, you don’t have to worry about deadlines, meetings, or asking for your colleagues’ help.
Gardening releases happy hormones
To remind you that gardening is an excellent way to exercise and spend time outdoors might be redundant and kind of obvious. However, I thought it’s important to remind you how good you feel after some workout.
The same happens with the habit of gardening. It is beneficial for the body, but also for your mind. While planting, like exercising, your body releases dopamine and serotonin, the main hormones which bring us a happy feeling.
Gardening teaches and reminds people to live the present moment
As long as you concentrate on the present moments, you can fight against anxiety and worry no more about the future. Once you only focus on the present, you can calm the anxious mind and lift your mood.
As such, the best advice when you are in a garden is to pause for a few moments and allow yourself to feel all the emotions and senses.
Get some help to go through difficult emotions
Gardening reminds you of the cycle of life. Also, it helps you work through difficult emotions, such as grief. What better way to recognize all the life stages than in a garden? From the symbolic regeneration to the spring blossoms, gardens are the embodiment of life.
Vent anger and aggression
One of the therapeutic benefits of gardening is the power of unleashing all the anger you have accumulated. It is also a great moment to fight against aggression and provide the opportunity to nurture.
Gardening is easy
Last but not least, let’s say the hobby of gardening does not imply too much information at the first stages. It is such a pleasant habit, that makes us feel relaxed, healed, less anxious, more close to nature.
Moreover, you don’t need a wide planting area to be happy and enjoy the pleasure of planting.
Conclusion
Both the 31 inspirational garden quotes and the therapeutic reasons to start gardening are statements of the benefits that nature brings in your lives. Hope you are related to these ideas, or you will start thinking more about investing your time in gardening.
Do you have any gardening quotes that changed your life and your perspective? Let me know.
