The Power of Personal Style

“Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

Life is but a dream.”

I guess I could say my personal style is pretty much summed up by these words. It really encompasses everything about how I live my life – in the moment, moving forward, step by step planning, developing and applying the ideas that come to mind. I seem to have an inherent “knowing”, as well as a vivid imagination of what could come in to “being” when planning a garden.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.”  - Albert Einstein

So my advice in starting a garden is to get some gardening magazines, catalogues, books at the library, search on line, and just give your self the chance to “dream” and imagine what could be. Copy and save photos. Walk out on your patio, or into your yard, or the space wherever your “garden” is going to be and just look and listen. Open your heart to all that is around you.  Really look at the area you are going to develop and try to imagine yourself in the finished garden. What “fits” in this area of your yard?

Is this for sustenance, as a vegetable garden, cooking garden, and an herb or fruit garden?

Is it a container garden, or planted in the ground?

City or Country?

Is this a  garden of flowers, vegetables, grasses, evergreens, water, or a mixture of all of these?

How large of an area could you imagine it would be, without it feeling overwhelming to manage?

How much time do you want to spend maintaining it?

Do you love the outdoors, bugs, snakes, mice etc? Can you see yourself dealing with these on a daily basis?

Do you have other animals of your own such as a cat or dog that will impact whether a fence needs to surround it?

Is the garden against a wall, or an island, or a peninsula?

How much wind do you get in the area? (This will affect whether you need to stake plants or not.)

How will you get water to it? Is there a source close by?

Do you see a sculpture, bench or potted plants within it?

Do you want to replant with each New Year: as with annuals or mix in some perennials that will grow repeatedly in the same place each year? Also, think of biennials, which grow every other year. A few dwarf evergreens could give some “bones” to your garden if you live in a wintry climate.

Do you see this in full color? Bright vivid or soft subtle colors, monochrome?

How tall is the tallest plant? Is it in the center or the back?

Are there paths wandering within the garden?
Are there any other structures?

If you believed your dream was attainable, what would you dream of?

If you dreamt it today, and it would not fail, what would your garden look like?

How great would it feel to sit, walk through, or work in this space you have created in your mind?

If you look closely, what part of your garden would you love to look at the most?Where would you feel most comfortable in your imaginary garden?

Try to sketch it or cut out pictures and make a collage of what it would be like.

You are on your way. Dream it…..do it. It is that simple.

Dream it for the sake of adding beauty to your life and the planet. Dream it for the sake of  adding meaning to yourself, (and remember whatever you do resonates out into the larger world), - so for the sake of  adding meaning to the world. These garden inspirations  and  your dreams of a life worth living, and the work worth doing help that thought grow in the world, to all corners of our universe. Garden for yourself  - and you will help the world grow.

Beginning a Garden

Gardening involves partnership, love and art which transform life, and this resonates to all corners of the world. It is meditative, and all encompassing of body, mind and soul.  It should be always evolving and changing. If it is approached initially in this manner, it will result in an experience which is both emotional and physical to the creator and the beholder. Alliance of your own personality with this new space, and seeing it as a cooperative effort between yourself and nature -  as opposed to strictly designing and controlling nature, will bring harmony and success in your ventures.
  Many factors come to mind when considering planning a garden. What kind of gardener are you, or would you like to become? What are your traits and archetypes that will be influencing how you work in the garden.What would you like the space or "room" to be like - is it a a place of sustenance,  personal/private space or one to be shared with others? What senses (sight, sound, hearing, touch) are going to be kindled as one passes through?  What kind of garden will you plant - annual, perennial, water, grasses, flower, vegetable and fruit? What style attracts you? Is it English, Country, Asian, Mediterranean, Artistic, Soulful, Planned or Unplanned? What is the  climate zone like? What are the watering needs?  What is the soil like? Which local animals could be a problem and do you want to plant so as not to attract them? How do light requirements influence the success of your garden?
  At the outset, the journey can be spontaneous and happen in a learn as you go adventure. Or, you can take the time to ask yourself some pertinent questions and save some often costly and frustrating mistakes.  Writing things down can be the first step in organizing your thoughts and feelings, even if you never refer back to them again. Think of it as exploring your soul and focusing the mind on what the soul truly wants. It  is parallel to making a life plan; exploring your wants, needs, and desires, the  financial requirements and working out the details on how to get the end result.
 So, here, where the ground is snow covered and the "bones" of the area are clearly able to be seen - I am taking this month to look, think, write, sketch and meditate. It should be fun and filled with creative expression as I begin to sketch and revise my own "Soulful Garden".

"Love shared anywhere transforms situations everywhere. Your life is your corner of the garden;tend to that and you tend to the world." - Marianne Williamson