Five Reasons To Try Your Hand At Night Gardening

From foliage to roughage, a well-tended garden can boost your home's curb appeal, cut your grocery bill, and help you be more environmentally friendly all in one swoop. But if you're like us, finding the time to garden between work, family time, and social outings can be kind of hard to do. Add in unpredictable weather, and you might feel at a loss. However, we have a solution for you -- night gardening!

Here are a few reasons to think about gardening once the sun goes down:

Stress Relief
Getting your hands dirty after a long day of work may not sound like the most awesome option, but think about the rewards you could reap from gardening instead of zoning out in front of the TV or computer. Have a rough day? Take out your angst on those pesky weeds sneaking into your planter box. Missed your regular workout? Till your garden, move that load of pavers, or lay down that mulch you've been meaning to get to. Overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of life? Pop in your earbuds while you tend to your little corner of Eden. You're nearly guaranteed to feel better once you realize you've spent some time to yourself and achieved a goal or two as well.

   

Beat The Heat
Gardening at night will help both you and your plants survive the heat of summer. For you, it'll keep you in cooler temperatures and out of the sun, therefore safe from heat exhaustion, dehydration, and sunburn. For your plants, watering at dusk will keep the sun from evaporating all of that watery goodness before they have the chance to soak it up. Plus, if you're planting new growth, your new little seedlings will have the whole night to eat up nutrients before braving the glaring sun, reducing immediate wilting. Also, if you plan on mowing or using other heavy landscaping machinery, it's more environmentally friendly to do these things at dawn or dusk to help prevent smog from building up in your neighborhood.

Time Crunch
You know what they say about all work and no play? Really, no one wants to feel like they have a to-do list a mile long on the weekends, leaving them no time for fun or relaxation. By tackling a little gardening by the glow of flood lights a couple of times a week, you free up hours of prime social time -- or non-social time, if you prefer. We find the summer's one of the better seasons to have a great deal of flexibility when it comes to plans, and utilizing your green thumb Monday through Friday will keep your weekends open for a bevy of frivolity, if you prefer.

Appreciating the Quiet
Sometimes, we all need to step back and appreciate the little things we may take for granted. And it sure is hard to beat the lovely quiet of a summer evening outside. Bring out a radio or log into Pandora, string up some decorative outdoor string lights or light some tiki torches and experience the serenity of dusk as modern life heads to bed and nature moves on to it's second shift. This season will be gone before you know it, so enjoy all of its benefits before it hides away for another year.

The Morning After
Sure, you may be a little extra sore when you call it a night, or discover new scrapes or blisters in the shower, but nothing can beat that sense of pride when you see a night's worth of tutelage in the light of day. It'll feel almost like magic, how your garden improved overnight ... except you'll be the source of your neighbors' befuddled envy.

We'd like to hear any of your night gardening stories, so make sure to share in the comments!

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbowler/195094634/