Remaining sequestered within the confines of our homes is not easy, but senior Scout Miller she has found a way to make it much less difficult than it needs to be.  Her solution?  Gardening.

“Gardening is amazing,” Miller said. “It allows you to enjoy your own hard work in an extremely fun and satisfying way.”

With warmer spring weather beginning to set in, Miller’s advice is especially timely.

“During the quarantine, it has been great to go outside and do something I really enjoy instead of being stuck on my phone or doing schoolwork all day,” she said.

Spring gardening, of course, is nothing new. Nearly 12,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers transitioned to agriculture, which became an integral part of human civilization and was a considerable factor in determining evolutionary success. Farmers became masters in the art of crop-growing and have since remained essential to human survival and prosperity.

In the modern era, scientists have concluded that gardening has an added benefit — it is good for human health.

Miller’s own gardening journey began a little over a year ago.

“I got really interested in the climate and how everything we are doing affects the planet,” she said. “My grandfather is also really into gardening and plants, so I started last year on a small 6×6 piece of grass that we dug up in my backyard. It’s just grown from there.”

Today, Miller’s project is hardly the wilted cluster of flowers with a smattering of a few errant tomato plants that most people imagine when they think of home gardening. She actually grows a wide assortment of successful crops.

“I grow things like zucchini, broccoli, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and lots of different herbs” she said. “Since we didn’t have a long growing season last year, we didn’t have a chance to make anything substantial, so we just ate most things right off the plant. But my favorite thing to grow, as well as to eat, is zucchini. It’s really easy to grow and we enjoy roasting it. It’s tasty and delicious, not to mention super easy to make.”

Miller also has a thriving garlic garden.

“Right now, I have over 50 heads of garlic growing,” she said. “ I’m hoping I can give some to my friends and family. I don’t need that much garlic!”

But Miller’s proudest horticultural accomplishment remains indoors. 

“My favorite plant that I have ever grown was not in my garden but in my bedroom.” she said. “I got a stephania nova bulb from Thailand last year. I planted it, but I could not get it to grow or do anything at first. I was about to give up on it when I realized there was a small little sprout on it.”

Miller is eager to impart advice to those who may shudder at the thought of digging in the dirt and keeping a plant alive. 

“Just do your research,” she said. “Each plant is different in its needs, whether it be little sun or water a lot of one and not the other.  It’s also ok to have a couple of plants die on you, as it’s going to happen at some point. I, for one, cannot for the life of me keep any String of Heart alive, and I’ve tried three times already.”

For those worried about the unexpected difficulties, Miller has even more encouragement..

“The hardest part of gardening is patience,” she said. “Your plants don’t just magically grow overnight right after you plant them. It takes time, some plants more than others.”

But all of the effort is worth it in the end, in Miller’s view.

“The best part is the end result,” Scout said. “You get to eat the food that you grew and know that you did that and you didn’t just buy it from the store.”