A Gardener’s Manicure.
“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.”
— Alfred Austin
Once upon a time, when I was a corporate creative in New York City, I had lovely weekday nails.
Working for luxury brands, beautifully manicured hands felt like part of the uniform.
I started with the standard salon appointments and, as my awareness grew, graduated to non-toxic polishes and cleaner products. My nails were polished, presentable, and perfectly aligned with the version of myself I inhabited at the time.
Then we moved upstate full time from Brooklyn, eight years ago this summer.
My hands with one of the incredible Irises blooming this week. The colors!
These days, I’m in the garden first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
It has become the rhythm of my days, the first place I visit before opening my laptop and the last place I wander before heading inside.
Unsurprisingly, the dirt seems to follow me everywhere.
My hands found their way into the soil every day, and my interest in the color spectrum of nail polish quickly disappeared.
Instead, I became captivated by the colors blooming around me, the intricate shades woven through my beloved bearded irises, the towering foxgloves and the endless variations of green emerging throughout the garden.
These days, whenever we photograph my hands for something related to The Botanist, I always glance down and discover dirt tucked beneath my chipped nails.
I’m usually in and out of the garden all day long.
Between calls, writing, designing, and tending to the endless rhythm of life here, I’ll slip outside to pull a few weeds, harvest some greens, get a little sun or check on whatever is flowering that day.
I swear I wash my hands.
Yet somehow, by afternoon, the garden has found its way back under my fingernails.
It’s become part of the landscape of my days.
And as it turns out, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Beyond the obvious joy of growing things, soil itself offers some fascinating benefits.
Researchers have found that exposure to harmless soil bacteria, including Mycobacterium vaccae, may help stimulate serotonin production in the brain.
In other words, getting your hands dirty can quite literally make you happier.
The soil beneath our feet is teeming with life, and spending time in it exposes us to a remarkable diversity of microorganisms that can support both physical and mental wellbeing.
Some of the benefits include:
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Natural mood enhancement. Certain soil microbes have been linked to increased serotonin production, helping to reduce stress and support a positive mood.
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Immune system support. Exposure to diverse environmental microbes may help train the immune system and has been associated with lower rates of allergies and other inflammatory conditions.
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A healthier skin microbiome. Contact with soil introduces beneficial microorganisms to the skin, supporting resilience and overall skin health.
Of course, while soil contains plenty of beneficial microbes, it can also harbor less desirable ones.
A great nail brush remains one of the most underrated tools in any gardener’s kit.
A good scrub with soap and warm water after a day outside is still highly recommended, followed by a generous helping of hand balm.
But all of this is to say that I’ve come to view my perpetually imperfect nails rather differently.
The chipped edges.
The faint traces of garden soil.
The evidence of a day spent growing something.
They no longer feel messy or unfinished.
They feel like proof that I’ve been exactly where I wanted to be.
All of which is to say, my chipped, dirt-under-the-nails gardener’s manicure is having a moment.
Nature, you did it again.
x Rebecca
