The Power of Language Language shapes our perception of the world. Label a plant a medicinal herb or label it a weed and very different images appear in our minds. Label a person as someone in recovery or a person who is mentally ill and again, different images appear that open or shut doors to … Read more
A Season of Harvest As I write this post I am watching the chickadees hanging upside down on sunflower heads picking out the last seeds. The pumpkin vines and most of the rest of the garden plants are dying back. Although the sunchokes, zinnias and cosmos are putting on a last enthusiastic show. The angle … Read more
Recovery is the practice of finding and claiming the lost pieces of ourselves.[1] I love this definition because, even though recovery is often seen as belonging to mental health or addiction issues, this statement applies to everyone. Seriously, do you know anyone who hasn’t lost parts of themselves as they have moved through life? … Read more
Garden Mandala Creation The plant designs in the photos were created as part of a mindfulness garden games workshop I led on July 12th at the National Children and Youth Garden Symposium here in Denver (It was sponsored by the American Horticultural Society.) The designs are a type of mandala, a centering device used in traditional … Read more
My favorite Chinese herb is called huang hua ti ting. In the garden, huang hua ti ting flowers attract bees and other pollinators. It is also a dynamic accumulator, a plant whose long tap root digs deep and breaks up compacted soil, pulling minerals up to its leaves. The plant can then be added to compost piles to release these minerals into the soil.
