Gardening was never my forte. Honestly, I proudly wore the label of a “brown thumb” for most of my life. I’d often cringe at the thought of tending to plants, certain I’d unintentionally send them to an early demise. Little did I know that my journey from reluctant gardener to someone who finds solace in…
garden musings
The Gardener’s Brain
As you stand amidst the lush, vibrant foliage of a garden, your busy mind settles into the soothing rhythm of the natural world. The rumination stops. You notice the gentle rustling of leaves, the cheerful chorus of birdsong, and the earthy aroma of freshly turned soil. It’s in these still moments that you realize there’s…
My Favorite Garden Metaphors
The garden and the things that grow in it provide such great lessons for life. Perhaps that’s why there are so many terrific gardening metaphors. By looking at what nature has to teach us, we truly can learn a lot. So, here are some of my favorite garden metaphors and what I love about them….
Substack Gardening: Must-Read Newsletters If You Love Nature
I recently shared with you how much I was loving Lia’s Living Almanac. It’s a Substack newsletter related to plants and gardening. However, it’s not the only one that I subscribe to. Substack has many different gardening and nature newsletters that you might want to check out. Therefore, I wanted to share some more of…
Book Review: Homegrown Flax and Cotton
Every once in a while, I get to marry multiple interests. For example, I have long loved crochet and believe in the slow yarn movement. Every now and then, I can combine that with gardening. I shared a bit of that with you when I did a book review of A Garden to Dye For….
Playlist: Best Songs About Gardens
I have been known to pick really random themes and make music playlists around them. One of my favorites is a playlist of songs about rain. Fire, sleep, and “bang bang” are a few other themes. It’s easy to find songs about nature. However, what about songs that are specifically about gardens? Here are the…
A Visit to Hollister House Garden
I’m never going to have an English garden. It just feels a little bit too perfect for my brown thumb, even though it has some informality to it. Either way, though, they are beautiful gardens, and it’s a delight to get a chance to visit one. I had just that chance recently on a family…
5 Reasons I Enjoy Lia’s Living Almanac
I have recently become a huge fan of Substack newsletters. People write mostly longform content about the thing they are most passionate about. It’s a great place to find smart writing about a range of different topics. This includes gardening. In terms of gardening and nature, the newsletter I’m loving most so far is Lia’s…
The Best Plants for Mental Health Benefits
My two biggest passions in life are art and mental health. Gardening is an art form. Also, gardening has many mental health benefits. I was curious to do some research into the best plants for mental health benefits. Of course, this will vary from person to person. Nevertheless, there are some plants commonly considered beneficial…
13 Gardening Books on My To Be Read Shelf
I love my local library. In fact, I get pleasure not just from going to the library and reading the books I get there but also from the process of looking through their catalog regularly and adding books to my “for later shelf.” There’s something satisfying about even just learning about which books are out…