Healing and Wellness Gardens
When I step out into my garden, I feel my body unwind. My mind jumps off the hamster wheel, and I feel my senses come to life. I draw in the scent of delicate flower petals, listen to the wren sing his heart out atop the wooden fence, collect the tiny golden cherry tomato orbs, and brush my fingers against the fuzzy leaves of oregano and sage plants. The sensations take me away from whatever was on my mind as I’m fully immersed in the natural world.
I know firsthand why stepping out into nature and putting my hands in the dirt is healing, but I wanted to know more about the science behind my personal experience and observations. I’ve spent the last few weeks listening to The Nature Fix and reflecting on why exploring gardens and natural spaces is tremendously healing. In our busy modern lives, we have fewer opportunities to be in awe of nature. We lose connection with the core of who we are and our role in the greater ecosystem when we forget that we are part of nature and are moved and changed by our relationship with the natural world.
Designing and enjoying healing landscapes in cities, hospitals, schools, and at home are ways to surround ourselves with nature in environments that can otherwise feel sterile. The Nature Fix by Florence Williams (on Bookshop.org and Libro.fm) is a collection of research and anecdotes exploring why access to nature is vital to our health and well-being. Having a small garden or access to a public garden encourages people to pay attention, observe, and experience the seasons as they change.
Garden Therapy booklist on Bookshop.org
In the winter months, the garden slows down just as the shorter days call on us to dial down our own productivity. Bringing a small garden indoors by forcing paperwhite bulbs in pots, installing a greenhouse, propagating plants in water, growing an avocado tree (I’m giving this a try!), growing houseplants in small pots, or even just sitting down with some gardening books or seed catalogs to plan a spring garden can help us all get through dreary weather. The Winter Garden by Emma Hardy, in my Garden Therapy booklist on Bookshop.org looks like a helpful resource for gathering ideas to create an uplifting winter garden.
Lessalyn Ramapriya Koehler of Priya Herbals
Your garden can be your kitchen and your apothecary if you plant wisely. I had the opportunity to attend a class called Kitchen Witchery at The Natural Gardener,taught by Lessalyn Ramapriya Koehler of Priya Herbals.
In the class, I learned about how plants in the garden, such as garlic, sage, ginger, and turmeric, can be helpful for pain relief, reducing inflammation, providing antioxidants, and soothing common colds and allergies. Each plant has unique medicinal properties. I picked up some garlic honey and elderberry syrup at the event to get a head start on wellness this season. (As with all natural remedies, be sure to do your research and consult a medical professional.)
Interested in learning more?
50 Plants That Heal: Discover Medicinal Plants - A Card Deck by François Couplan and Pierre And Délia Vignes
Wild Apothecary: Reclaiming Medicine for All by Claudia Manchanda and Amaia Dadachanji
The Backyard Herbal Apothecary: Effective Medicinal Remedies Using Commonly Found Herbs & Plants by Devon Young
100 Plants That Heal: The Illustrated Herbarium of Medicinal Plants by François Couplan, Gérard Debuigne, and Pierre And Délia Vignes
Lone Star Nursery near Austin, Texas, is a wonderful resource for sourcing healing plants if you live in Central Texas.
Garden Therapy booklist on Bookshop.org
I loved this video on creating a healing garden. I had no idea that we could grow chia in Central Texas until watching this video, but I’m doing my research to see if that might be an addition to our garden in March. Seeing the mushrooms at work in the garden in this video inspired me to pick up a few spent mushroom blocks at The Natural Gardener from the Central Texas Mycological Society. I crumbled up the mushroom blocks and incorporated them into the hardwood mulch, adding a cozy blanket of mulch and soil remediation powerhouses ahead of winter.
“Fungal hyphae and plant roots working together are called mycorrhizae.
It adds up to a fundamental mutualistic relationship between fungi and green plants, one that has been evolving for millions of years.
Mycorrhizal fungi are not fertilizers, although a fungal inoculation of roots can improve a plant’s growth rate and tolerance to drought and disease.”
-Source: Susie Dunham, Oregon State Extension Website
In early November, our garden is still green, the tomatoes and peppers are continuing to ripen daily, the flowers are still blooming, and the bees are still buzzing. Gulf fritillaries are still fluttering around our yard, leaving eggs that transform into lumbering caterpillars on our passion vine plants. The fall winds and rain have kept the temperatures cooler but not cold, and everything is thriving. However, change is visible in the telltale colors of gold and crimson leaves appearing on the trees in our neighborhood. Once we receive our first bite of winter temperatures, the tender perennials will take their bow for their season to appear again in the spring, and our fall veggies will take center stage.
During the last cold snap, we found our resident wren using the roost hanging in our magnolia tree, where I had placed a small tuft of alpaca fur inside for warmth. We can see the roost from our bedroom window, and it warmed my heart to know that they had a warm place to wait out the storm. (I’m adding these colorful roosts to my wishlist!)
Enjoy this week’s video! If you have any questions about the plants featured in the video, please let me know in the comments.
See you next week for Nature’s Seasons!