High on Gardening: Not Your Average Mental Health Plan

I don’t know when it happened exactly, but at some point, I became the kind of person who smokes a little weed and then goes outside to pull weeds. Full circle moment, I guess.

Anyway, there I am—knees in the dirt, lighter in my pocket, trying to remember what I came outside for in the first place. Turns out? That’s my therapy. Not some spa or journaling app. Just me, a half-hit, and the butterfly bush that refuses to mind its business.

Being high in the garden is weirdly perfect. You slow down—like, really slow down—and suddenly you’re paying attention to stuff you’ve walked past a hundred times. The bees sound like tiny engines. The wind flirts with the rosemary. The birds are out there living their own soap opera. And I’m standing there, holding a watering can like it’s a sacred relic.

The colors? Ridiculous. The smells? Unfair. I had no idea marigolds had such strong opinions.

Honestly, it’s the only time my brain shuts up. No emails. No reminders. No spiraling. Just dirt under my nails and a brain that, for once, isn’t spinning like a broken dryer.

And the best part? I actually do stuff. I mean, not always the stuff I set out to do, but things happen. I end up planting something. Or reorganizing the tool bench. Or making peace with the ant hill I’ve been threatening for weeks.

Some of my best ideas have ambushed me while I was high and watering the parsley. Weird, right?

It’s not all zen and enlightenment, though. I’ve definitely:

• Lost my gloves mid-task (they were in the compost bin)
  
  
• Watered the same plant three times
  
  
• Spaced out so hard I forgot where the hose was (it was in my hand)
  
  

Also? Don’t even think about using power tools while you’re buzzed. I love my fingers. You probably do too.

So if you're gonna try it: start light. Keep a drink nearby. Wear sunscreen. If you partake to much take a hit of CBD to mellow out your high. Laugh when the basil judges you (because it will). And take your time—this isn’t a checklist. It’s dirt and light and breath and maybe a little magic if you’re lucky.

Nobody talks about gardening like this, but maybe they should. You don’t have to be good at it. You just have to show up.

And maybe light up first.

So light up. Dig in. Let your hands move and your mind wander. You might be surprised what starts growing—both in your garden and in you