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Comment by boffinism | Hacker News Reader

Surprised that having a big garden is dismissed as a superficial benefit. My intuition based on personal experience would be that the freedom to potter about in a garden every day (well, local climate permitting) would be a reliable source of regular positive experiences. But maybe that's more the difference between a garden and no garden, and the size of the garden matters less than I assume?

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> My intuition based on personal experience would be that the freedom to potter about in a garden every day (well, local climate permitting) would be a reliable source of regular positive experiences

This is my exact experience. I've always enjoyed pottering about as a form of mindfulness. I made it part of my daily routine during Lockdown. The garden is large which increases the amount of pottering available.

In the words of the Zen masters: "Before enlightenment, fetch water, chop wood. After enlightenment, fetch water, chop wood". Although for me 'fetch water' = 'pull weeds'.

I have a relevant anecdote to share. My father [0] bought a pair for African grey parrots [1] last year. Both were around 6 months old at that time. They do require attention and looking after them has certainly brought happiness to him.

[0] Runs a business which loses $200-$300 per month and works only 2-3 hours a day. So sort of retired.

[1] I'm not encouraging keeping animals, endangered or not, as pets or in cages.

I would guess it's a significant benefit for certain people who have the dedication to actually keep a garden- but it seems pretty clear that most people don't successfully keep gardens long term.

I love my back yard, which I couldn't have living right in the city.

The four dead plants on my balcony would disagree

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