At what cost a hobby?

A Jewish Proverb says ” When a habit begins to cost money it is called a hobby. ” I have quite a few hobbies it would seem. if that is the measure.    Growing roses is one of those.

I came home from holidays this week to an abundance of blooms in the garden. Thanks to recent rains and previously added rose fertiliser, the bushes are covered in flowers. I have been quick to lop off the buds and blossoms and to stuff them into vases so I can enjoy both the perfume and their display of beauty inside. It gives me pleasure to give a bunch of my roses away. I also feel compelled to photograph them. I am almost embarrassed at the number of rose photos I have posted on social media over the past ten years.

I planted my rose bushes especially to cut their flowers. Buying flowers seems a luxury and yet buying a bush, fertiliser and sprays does not feel quite the same. I enjoy pottering in my garden; although I would not go so far to say I have a “green thumb”.  My rose bushes would not win a gardening award. But then, that is not the reason I grow roses.

I have never done the math to work out what a dozen of my roses cost; and I am reluctant to do so. Evidence says hobbies are good for the soul. Growing roses is good for my soul as fishing is for my husband. 

We often joke that if we did the math on my husband’s fishing hobby the price per kilo of fish fillets might be closer to hundreds of dollars. Buying reef fish fillets seems a luxury and yet eating the bounty of a day’s ‘hunting and gathering’ does not feel quite the same. How do you put a value on leisure; on fresh air, sunshine and physical activity along with the joy of being on the water?

What are your hobbies?  Do you think hobbies a luxury or a necessity? I do not think you can truly evaluate the cost of a hobby.  Hobbies are good for the soul. That is priceless!