Learning to Garden After 60: My First Backyard Garden (Honest and Unfiltered)

Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

I started gardening because I wanted fresh food. That’s it. Not a hobby, not a new identity — just food that came from my own backyard. Specifically, I wanted to grow the vegetables I needed to make pico de gallo. Which I just love. That was the whole plan. Simple, practical, and completely reasonable. Or so I thought.

Starting Out With Zero Experience

I went into this with the attitude of let’s see what survives. I have no formal training, no master gardener in the family, no YouTube channel I’ve been following for years. I bought some pots, some soil, some seedlings, and I put them in the ground. Or the pots. And then I waited.

I planted tomatoes, bell peppers, basil, and cilantro — all things I actually use in the kitchen. And then I got a little ambitious and added squash. Oh, my poor squash. One day it looked beautiful. The next day it looked like it had given up entirely on life. And that was that. Squash: 1. Gigi: 0.

What’s Actually Surviving (And What Isn’t)

My tomato plant doesn’t look like the ones in the gardening videos. It’s a little scraggly, a little rough around the edges. But that little plant has given me six tomatoes, and I am unreasonably proud of every single one of them. The basil is doing beautifully — soft, fragrant, and growing faster than I expected. The bell peppers are newer and still getting established, but they’re hanging in there.

The cilantro? I planted it. It came up. And then it bolted in the Arizona heat before I could use much of it. Lesson learned: cilantro does not love summer in the desert. I’ll try again in the fall when things cool down.

What Gardening Has Taught Me (That Has Nothing to Do With Plants)

What surprised me most was how fast things can change in a garden. You walk outside feeling pretty good about yourself and your little green situation, and you come back in an hour later wondering what happened. But instead of letting that stop me, it made me realize something. This is what trying new things actually looks like. It’s not smooth. It’s not predictable. And it doesn’t always go the way you planned.

Not everything works. Some things won’t make it no matter what you do. But you still learn. You still show up the next day. And sometimes, what survives is enough to keep you going.

For Anyone Thinking About Starting a Garden After 60

If you’ve been putting off starting a garden because you’re afraid you’ll mess it up — you probably will, at least a little. I did. But that’s not a reason to not try. Start small. Pick two or three things you actually eat and want to grow. Use containers if you don’t have a yard. And go easy on yourself when something doesn’t make it, because something won’t.

This little garden of mine isn’t about doing it perfectly. It’s about trying. And at 60-something, I’ve decided that trying — imperfectly, messily, and with a lot of learning along the way — is enough. More than enough, actually.

More From the Garden

If you’re on the same journey — figuring out gardening one plant at a time — here are a few more posts from my little backyard adventure:
👉 Best Planters for a Patio Garden in Arizona Heat
👉 How I’m Keeping My Patio Garden Alive in Arizona Heat
👉 How I’m Creating a Cozy Arizona Patio Garden After 60 (Even in 100° Heat)
👉 Patio Garden Transformation in One Afternoon