Everything Changes When I started gardening many moons ago, it was impossible to get organic produce at local stores. I also had a house full of children. Growing plants we could make meals with was a top priority. However, all of that has changed. Drifting Toward Easy My work schedule is hectic, there aren’t … Read more
It’s late August and my garden is a chaotic, wild, and beautiful “mess”. The pumpkin vines have twined up the apple tree with pumpkins resting on branches or in mid-air. The runner beans are preferring the support of tomatoes to the trellis, so beans appear to be growing out of the tomato plants. The cosmos, … Read more
Having grown up reading Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and other fantasy books, I’ve been immersed in the concept of deep magic. Most everyone knows the stories…the ring to rule them all was forged by deep magic, the stone table on which Aslan was sacrificed was built with deep magic. The magic that created these things always … Read more
Creating Winter Mandalas This moment and this moment and this next moment….that’s what we have. These moments make up our lives. And yet we seem to be wired to be anywhere but in this present moment. Certainly more than at any time in our history, the information on meditation and mindfulness is readily available. But … Read more
. Pattern Language Expands Possibilities What do forest gardens and peer run recovery centers have in common? • Both are innovative ideas • Both are phrases that help us envision new patterns and possibilities As I expand on each one and you’ll see the connections. On forest gardens Forest gardens are also known as food … Read more
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
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.
