I returned home from Pennsylvania to find my gardens very much alive, in spite of the blazing Denver sun. Thank you to all my wonderful friends and family who were watering. As I wandered through the gardens, I discovered three tiny pears on my pear tree. And that is a small miracle. … Read more
Grief is like a river. Sometimes it is just meandering, and quietly tugging at your heart. At other times it is a raging river threatening to capsize the boat. But it seems to me that even in the worst of it, there are places of refuge. I am so grateful for the … Read more
Courage is the mindfulness focus word for the week, inspired by borage (Borago officinalis) in flower throughout my yard. Even though I’ve worked with courage as a focus word already this year, the borage plants and life events are calling me to revisit the concept. About Borage Borage has a strong association with courage. According … Read more
Challenges of Writing I promised myself at the beginning of the year that I would create a blog post every Sunday, with a focus on gardens and mindfulness. It has been a positive endeavor for the most part, but the year has been challenging and some posts have been hard to write just because … Read more
Wisdom is the mindfulness focus word for the week, inspired by sage ( Salvia officinalis). Sage is flowering now in various places around my yard. The shrubby plant has soft strongly scented leaves and tiny lipped purplish-blue flowers whorled around many stems. It is loved by bees and drought tolerant, making … Read more
Quiet Beauty is the mindfulness concept for the week, inspired by comfrey (Symphytum officinale). Comfrey is blooming in my garden right now and it is the kind of plant that most people don’t pay attention to. The world is a pretty loud and noisy place. The things that get our attention … Read more
This week’s mindfulness concept was inspired by the irises blooming in my yard. When I first moved into my Denver home, a friend offered me iris tubers. I was happy to have them and assumed she was simply thinning hers, which needs to be done periodically. But no… she told me … Read more
Connectedness is the mindfulness word for the week. And gardens are an easy place to begin to contemplate connectedness. There is a constant flowing of energy between plants, soil (earth), air, sun (fire), and rain (water). They all work in unison to support life on the planet. And as humans, we are intimately … Read more
Duality is my intentional focus word this week. Duality is that concept that polar opposites are part of the same whole. But more than that, they are intimately related and give rise to the other. In the yin-yang symbol of Chinese philosophy, the white part of the symbol has a dot of black … Read more
If you’ve encountered stinging nettles by accident while walking or gardening, the word gift is probably not the first thing that pops into your head. Tiny stinging hairs cover the plant and brushing against them releases the plant’s venom. The sting contains formic acid, the same chemical as a bee sting, and can … Read more
