When we plant something in our garden, many of us— sometimes without realizing— expect something in return. Maybe you’ll relate: the satisfaction of the physical exertion of digging a hole or preparing a bed; the promise of something beautiful emerging in a few months’ time; the feeling of contributing to the vitality of an overlooked, buzzing, crawling world. Maybe it’s the feeling of putting a bit of ourselves into matter that will outlast us, and the comfort of experiencing that promise of renewal here and now. Most likely, there’s a bit of each of these expectations in our gardening.