Designing a Garden to Benefit Your Mental Health- Part 3- Renewal

“Gardening is about setting life in motion, and seeds, like dead fragments, help us recreate the world anew.”
- Sue Stuart-Smith, The Well Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature

What is it about that tiny little envelope with little black specs in it? Seeds! The hope and joy of new life. Dreams of beauty to come. We’ve all been lured in by a beautiful seed packet or maybe a few packets. Planning my garden each year is one of my favorite parts. So much possibility, nothing has gone wrong yet.

We start the seed, nestling it into the dirt inside a little pot, water it, give it a bit of heat and light. Off it goes! With the right conditions, it springs up within a few days and the dream has begun to be reality.

So many things in life begin this way- we plan, we research. We begin to execute and it’s all going swimmingly until it doesn’t. Until something throws a wrench in the works.

The root hits a rock. We forget to water. The plant gets scorched. We begin to struggle, we feel drained- like a thirsty seedling.

We may or may not make it through to accomplish our goal. The little seedling may get what it needs or it may whither and die. But then one day, we come across the packet of seeds and decide to give them one more chance.

It always comes full circle. Our lives like nature constantly renew themselves. When one plant ventures into the compost pile, it breaks down into life giving substances that feed the flower that springs from it.

Gardens are a constant example of renewal. Renewal is an important principle to be mindful of in our lives. We have a tendency to think life is one continuous improvement when there is a seasonal nature to our lives just like the natural world.

A lot of this disconnect comes from forgetting that we are part of the natural world. We exist in a system that is taking what’s served it’s purpose, breaking it down and producing new resources. We forget about the seasonal nature of our world.

Just as our gardens go through winter, so do our lives. We all know this but we so often get bogged down in the “winter” and forget that spring always comes. Things never stay the same. I’ve resolved to look at the winters of my life as times of deep discovery and learning.

Is it always enjoyable? Gosh, NO!

But in these winters, I’m discovering my deep roots. Those roots produce lush strong summer growth and beauty.

This week, it’s not about adding certain plants to your garden or creating a space. It’s about noticing what’s around you. Creating the awareness of how the world around itself is constantly renewing.

About noticing our lives do the same. We go through winter because spring brings beauty we couldn’t dream of without the deep roots that winter creates.



Did you miss part 2? Find it here