my neighbor's tree is shading my garden
If you’ve ever read The Secret Garden I’m pretty sure there will be no doubt in your mind that gardening can be therapeutic. But did you know there is actually such a thing as garden therapy? How does that sound for a career choice?
I happened to meet a professor of Horticultural Therapy just a few weeks back at my local library. It had slipped my mind until today.
I was out in the garden taking a look at how things are doing, as us gardeners do. Sadly, my prairie garden is in a spot of trouble. See that tree? It’s shading half of my prairie garden and that’s trouble for sure. Prairie likes sun. My plants are stressed.
Gardens are full of change. And just as well, otherwise how would things grow? But some changes in the garden are less welcome than others. There’s definately a temptation to exert control. I could lopp off some of my neighbor’s tree. Problem solved. Right?
For me the garden is not about controlling change, but about accepting it, working with it, appreciating it even. Things don’t stay the same for long. Such is life. I don’t know anything about garden therapy. What I do know is that my garden is a place to appreciate change. A place to connect with the land beneath my feet. A place for me to make green earth choices rather than chopping and spraying to control things.
What do you think? Are there unwelcome changes happening in your garden? Do you find your garden therapeutic? Would you like to learn more about garden therapy?
If you enjoyed this you might like:
The gentleman I had the fortune to meet recently is Professor Richard Mattson of the Kansas State University Department of Horticulture, Forestry and Recreation Resources. He’s a knowledgeable and laid back guy. Guess that therapy works, huh!
Related posts:
The heat has finally claimed my spinach. While I’m still battling to keep some of the lettuce growing, I gave in to the fact that the spinach is too far out of season and am feeding it to the chickens. Hoping the lettuce will have a better chance now that the tomatoes are shading it in the noon sun. I have to water it every day, but it still looks nice.
It seems more like therapy when I’m foraging about for a salad than when I’m trying to figure out where the little worms are that are devouring anything remotely related to a cabbage. I’ve even been letting the chickens browse through the garden regularly, hoping they’ll find what I can’t seem to see. I lost all my brussels sprouts and fear the cabbage is about to succumb as well.
Hi Dana. You have chickens! I’ve heard that they are very handy to have in the garden, at least all the permaculture folks seem to keep chickens for pest control, eggs, and manure.
I’ve had my share of problems with greens too: caterpillars last fall (but not this spring) and lettuce devoured by rabbits.
The garden certainly teaches me patience and acceptance, two things I seem to be continually cultivating amongst my vegetables!
Alison, loving your tweets and your blog…
I, too, am a big believer that gardening is therapy; for me, it’s the best therapy. I tend to let the garden do it’s thing while I follow it’s lead. I love “surprise” plants, things that I didn’t necessarily plant, but that migrated from another yard or snuck into a seed packet accidentally.
The garden is a place to slow down, contemplate, and recharge the batteries. An hour of leisurely pulling weeds can undo a bad day, and a little harvest of something unexpected is a gift that reminds me that abundance abounds in life if I – gratefully and simply – let it bloom.
When I am troubled, nothing helps me more than pulling a few weeds, disentangling some wild vines, and propping up flowers that have flopped from wind or rain.
My daughter’s broccoli went to flower when we weren’t looking. Oops.
) It’s been so rainy we fell behind with keeping track of it.
I had the opposite problem you are having. I spent eight years working with the shade in our yard and then lost a 100+ oak to a storm. I cried. We kept the stump and I created a sunnier garden where it was. Things do change. But that just helps me keep my skills honed and “growing” with my garden!
Peace and Laughter!
Bdiggin – I dig your comment. Was that too corny?
Cristina – have you had some good fungi yet on your oak stump? I had an oak tree taken out about 9 years ago – I didn’t want to, but there were 2 of them very close together – and I’ve had some great fungi from where the roots were.
The garden brings good surprises, as bdiggin says
My very favorite time is at the end of the day, “walking the yard” with my hubby, sharing the days events and seeing all the green growing things and how they are changing, producing, etc. It’s so peaceful…well, except for the mosquitoes!
The times when it is hard are like when I found an underground bee hive by being stung while pulling weeds! I hadn’t been stung in 10 years or so and it hurt for days! Made me think twice about wanting to raise honeybees, even though I know that they are less aggressive!