Families can step away from their screens and their busy lives and enjoy working with each other to achieve something beneficial.
The exercise required to maintain a garden can bring about health and wellbeing, and if that isn't enough, it is a fun thing to do.
Spring officially starts - depending on who you ask - on September 1 for the calendar followers, or on September 23 for the Spring Equinox.
However, spring can still bring blasts of freezing weather and buckets of chilly rain leaving our bright daffodils positively bedraggled and our good intentions undone. Patience is still required for the keen gardener.
Take the time to find out what your plants need and what they like and meeting those needs will result in healthier plants in the long run.
Trying to 'get a jump on the season' doesn't really work with plants, as they have their own sense of timing and know what they like.
Most are awakened by factors such as day length and ground temperatures.
The date considered warm enough and safe from frost for most plants is Labour Day in October, although there have been frosts beyond this date. Most plants only need six to eight weeks to get from a seed to being big enough to plant outside once the risk of frost has passed.
The majority of vegetables don't mind being started in September and a handful will even wait until October before being started from seed. Pumpkins, zucchini and cucumbers don't mind waiting until then, but will also be just as productive if they are planted directly in the soil after the risk of frost has past. Beans and corn prefer to be planted directly in the soil, but the temperatures need to be 18C or warmer for the best germination success.
You don't want to be managing a determined zucchini plant contained on your windowsill against its will for a couple of months, when it is actually a large, fast-growing plant that needs about a metre square in the garden and will be fruiting prolifically in six to eight weeks when planted out at the right time. There is no need to hurry, even if you start your garden in November or even December you will still get a harvest.
If you are starting your vegetable garden from seed indoors or in a greenhouse, to keep them in good health you may need to feed regularly once they get going, to ensure they don't exhaust the soil nutrients in the pot.
It is almost like having a hungry teenage boy - growing fast and always looking for something to eat.
Move them into bigger pots once you see roots poking out the bottom. If plants are left in pots too long they can become root bound and can also become stunted in their growth and once these plants are liberated into the soil they struggle.
Even if you don't want to grow from seed, just pop in a few pre-prepared seedlings into your garden or even into a few containers, and try not to be lured by the vast array of seedlings available on the first sunny day. We aren't in spring yet and when we get there, there will still be a few freezing days that will undo all your efforts. Wait until the risk of frost has passed.
Planting a garden isn't a race. It is a slow process and it is important to slow down to the rhythm of nature and just enjoy the journey and you will reap the rewards for all your efforts.
Sarah O'Neil is an author, blogger and passionate gardener writing about the trials and tribulations of growing food for her family. Her books The Good Life and Play in the Garden and the recently released Growing Vegetables are available at all good bookstores.
sarahthegardener.co.nz
