Happy New Year
Wishing you a Happy New Year – one filled with health, joy, gardens overflowing, and a keen sense of wonder and appreciation for the green world. Whether you are a gardener or not (but why would you not be a gardener?) the green world provides countless ways to engage in an intentional way.
Last new year’s day I proposed nine garden intentions and they are all still relevant. You can find that list here. But now I’d like to simply focus on the intentional practice of cultivating joy in and through the garden.
Joy in Gardening
If this is your year to jump into gardening for the first time, congratulations! Do some planning. Talk to other gardeners in your area to get tips on varieties that do well and those that don’t. Learn about your soil and how you can improve it. Remember that gardens can happen in small spaces like patios and decks. Most seed catalogs provide information on plants that do well in pots. Check out these great seed catalogs: Seed Savers Exchange, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, and Botanical Interests.
An important point in cultivating gardening joy is not taking on more than you can handle. It’s easy when looking at the bounty and beauty in seed catalogs to over-estimate your time and energy. Make it fun by being intentional and realistic with the time you can give to gardening.
If you are already a gardener, think about how you might intentionally spread the joy. Could it be helping a new gardener get started by sharing seeds, cuttings, and wisdom? Or could you make a commitment to plant additional rows to donate to the local food bank? You might also set intentions around growing new and interesting plants or creating crafts from your garden. For me, planting flax to spin into linen continues to be a joyful adventure.
Garden Gratitude and Joy Connection
One sure way to cultivate joy is with the intentional practice of gratitude. And obviously, both gardeners and non-gardeners can participate. This mindful practice is about noticing the green world and naming the things we are grateful for – either in writing or aloud. Stopping to contemplate the life-sustaining gifts of the garden and green world allows joy and wonder to bubble up.
Cultivating joy is not about ignoring the challenges and hardness of life. But life is also more than the difficulties. Shining a light on the gifts of the garden hones our ability to find joy even when the world feels full of discord. And when we tap into joy, we become more resilient and energized to find solutions to the challenges. Like most mindful practices, this is not particularly difficult to do. But the trick is in actually committing to practice. We need to make space in our lives to look up from devices and see the world. If you are creating intentions for 2022, think about adding a daily practice of gratitude for the green world to your list. Pick a time of day that you will head outside -with intention- open your heart and senses to the trees, plants, and interconnected web of life. Be thankful.
Happy New Year!
Just a reminder that my book, Growing Mindful, Explorations in the Garden to Deepen Your Awareness, has a myriad of mindful garden practices to explore. Please ask your library or local bookseller to carry it. I also post to instagram – @mindfulnessgardengames – on a semi-regular basis. 🙂
