• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Speaking
    • Upcoming Speaking Engagements
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Achieving Happiness in Your Garden: The Fifth Secret

January 20, 2010 By Carol Michel 16 Comments

I was going through a big stack of clay pots one day, sorting them by size and wondering where they all came from. Since most of the plants I’ve purchased in the last umpteen years were generally grown in plastic pots, I found it hard to believe that I had so many of these clay pots, but I did.

Some I got from my Dad. I remember stopping once at an old dilapidated greenhouse with him when I was a kid and buying a whole bunch of four inch clay pots. I think I have most of them now. My sister in law brought me some other clay pots that her parents found when they were cleaning out their basement. And my Mom’s neighbors gave me another stash of pots when they were cleaning out their shed in anticipation of moving.

As I started to sort the pots by size, I found one oddly sized pot that was a different size than any other clay pot in my stash. As I held it in my hand and looked it over, I realized that someone had scratched words on the inside of it. Could it be the fifth secret?

I peered inside that clay pot and carefully read the inscription as I turned the pot in my hand to see the entire message…

The fifth secret to achieving happiness in your garden is to share your garden.

Share your garden?

Yes, share your garden.

Let others see your garden. Give others passalong plants from your garden. Give away vegetables and flowers from your garden. Share what you know about gardening by showing others how to garden.

And most of all – share your love of gardening and plants with anyone who is willing to try to garden, too.

Share your garden, the fifth and final secret to achieving happiness in your garden.

But is it really the final secret?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Secrets

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathy says

    January 20, 2010 at 12:54 am

    All your secrets have been well known to anyone who gardens, and yet it was so refreshing to review them all, like rediscovering a favorite book or meeting a long lost friend. Thank you for this series.

    Reply
  2. growingagardenindavis says

    January 20, 2010 at 1:18 am

    That secret is wonderful…although they all are. It made me smile.

    Reply
  3. Mr. McGregor's Daughter says

    January 20, 2010 at 1:31 am

    This one is too easy – it's hard not to share the garden when you're all enthused and excited about it.

    Reply
  4. Dee/reddirtramblings says

    January 20, 2010 at 1:37 am

    Carol, that's just beautiful. Thank you and thanks for sharing your garden with us every time we visit your blog.~~Dee

    Reply
  5. Jayne says

    January 20, 2010 at 4:03 am

    Wonderful Carol. So true 🙂

    Reply
  6. Sweet Home and Garden Carolina says

    January 20, 2010 at 4:37 am

    Great series of posts on the five secrets of achieving happiness in the garden, Carol.

    While I liked all your secrets I find myself partial to the first one : Grow the plants you love. As you so rightly stated we sometimes fall in love with a new plant only to find out later that we misjudged it. I don't waste much time in passing those along to someone who wants them.

    Thanks for sharing your great secrets with us, Carol.

    Reply
  7. Anna/Flowergardengirl™ says

    January 20, 2010 at 5:38 am

    This is most important. To share your garden most definitely.

    Reply
  8. Cyndy says

    January 20, 2010 at 10:42 am

    Sharing is so much fun! Informally,or as part of a seed exchange,joining a garden club or plant society. I have pass-alongs in my yard from locally legendary gardeners I never met in their lifetimes. They live on in other friend's gardens. Sharing's the best…

    Reply
  9. Lisa at Greenbow says

    January 20, 2010 at 10:45 am

    You clever girl, I imagine that you will come up with more secrets from the garden. Especially since you like to share with us gardeners and we in turn can share with others.

    Reply
  10. Antigonum Cajan says

    January 20, 2010 at 11:35 am

    I share my garden with
    those that are really
    pertinent: flora and fauna.
    It is design according
    to their needs, a lot
    of wild, collected vegetation.
    People are irrelevant in my
    scheme, blog read in five continents.
    However, the passers by
    can look half do, my collection
    of over 120 species..

    Good luck in your projects!

    Reply
  11. Darla says

    January 20, 2010 at 12:15 pm

    This, to me, is the most important secret so far…

    Reply
  12. donna says

    January 20, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    I've been the recipient of many passalong plants from generous gardeners and always try to return the favor. Makes me happy to see some of the "pretty" from my garden being enjoyed in the gardens of other people.

    donna

    Reply
  13. Unknown says

    January 20, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    Sharing your garden is definitely a most important secret, Carol. I share mine whenever possible, although last year I fell down on giving away plants because I wasn't home for so much of the spring and early summer. This year, looking ahead, will be much better.

    Reply
  14. mr_subjunctive says

    January 20, 2010 at 4:39 pm

    Perhaps more important yet: share your clay pots. Those suckers are expensive.

    Reply
  15. Anonymous says

    January 20, 2010 at 8:53 pm

    Sowning more seeds of wisdom, you are so right. Giving creates the most happiness.

    Reply
  16. Teresa O says

    January 22, 2010 at 2:36 am

    This is my favorite secret of all! I wish I could remember each plant, each pearl of wisdom, every flower, and every vegetable that was given to me from enthusiastic gardeners. In return, I did the same. This was such a wonderful series and your creativity made it so much fun to read.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,047)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT