Mindfulness Garden Games
by Joann Calabrese
author of Growing Mindful

Equinox, Balance, & Cover Crops

Pink Buckwheat

Equinox as a Time of Balance Autumn equinox occurs at 7:30 MT on Tuesday September 22.  Day and night are equal at this moment as the earth jouneys around the sun. Traditionally it is a time to celebrate and be grateful for the harvest, but equinox is also about balance. A successful garden is a … Read more

My Flax to Fiber Adventure Part 3

Flax harvest Aug 2020

        As many of you know, I have been growing flax this summer with a plan to turn it into fiber for spinning (or at least attempt to.) You can read the previous posts about my experiment here and here. Harvesting Because of COVID-19, I’ve been working from home and have been … Read more

Saving Seeds as Hopeful Practice

amaranth - seed saving

Seed Gathering Time By day it is still super-hot in Denver, but the nights are cooler and the days are shorter. This triggers plants, especially annuals (those that live only one season) to begin to set seeds. When we are enjoying the beauty of flowers or the harvest of fruits and vegetables, we may get … Read more

Garden Yield – Expanded Definition

“Obtain a yield” is a basic tenet of the sustainable design system permaculture. Many moons ago I took a permaculture design course and incorporate some of those concepts into my backyard sanctuary. One idea is to design for ease of care. This includes focusing on plants that are perennial, disease resistant, and do well naturally … Read more

Flax to Fiber Update

Flax to Fiber Experiment As some of you know, I became intrigued by the whole process of turning flax into fiber after reading The Golden Thread. Of course, I had to try it myself. This is an update on the project  that began in January.  In the spring, I put in a new 8 foot by … Read more

Tiny Solstice Garden Tour

  Tiny Solstice Garden Tour My garden is lush and overflowing today but not anywhere near its peak, so it is hard to envision winter. And yet, we’ve reached the tipping point of light and darkness at summer solstice. The daylight hours will begin to fade now until yule. It will be almost imperceptible at … Read more

Why We Don’t Create Gardens on Toxic Dumps

  It would be odd if we had to explain why it’s not a good idea to plant a garden on top of a toxic dump. It is a commonsense sort of thing. Toxic chemicals in the soil may prevent anything from growing. The plants that do germinate will be stressed and susceptible to disease … Read more

Spreading Viral Compassion

Dandelions for Resilience

  Viral Overload I don’t know about you, but I am weary of seeing the super magnified coronavirus molecule everywhere I turn. Certainly, we want to be informed citizens, but we are awash in scary images and language, sometimes without any real content. Rather than feeling informed, the overload can invoke a lot of fear … Read more

Mindfulness Walks at Bluff Lake

  One weekend a month, from March to October, I lead mindfulness walks at Bluff Lake Nature Center.  But the walks have been temporarily suspended because of the pandemic. The nature center  is open so that people can exercise, but social distancing makes it hard to lead a mindfulness walk. Shouting instructions across 6 feet … Read more

Dreaming of Eggplant amidst Coronavirus

    It is snowing here in Denver, but eggplant bushes are producing fruit in many places in the world. I know this of course because eggplant originated in climates much warmer than Colorado. And I also know this because my Houston daughter’s garden is magnificently producing eggplant right now. I can only dream. In … Read more