The Garden as a Metaphor for Life

The garden is a metaphor for life, and gardening is a symbol of the spiritual path."~ Larry Dossey 

Full Moon by Gail Allen

Paying very close attention to who you are and what you are wanting is almost unheard of in these crazy, busy times we live in, but none – the - less is needed. as much, if not more so, than ever before. We are living in a new era where the world around us changing minute by minute, in unparalleled ways.  The need to keep ourselves openly aware of the subtle intuitive realms within us and hold fear and loneliness at bay is a lofty goal, to say the least. Doing this will undoubtedly though, uphold the important evolution we are all experiencing.

There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.

                                                                  - Elizabeth Lawrence

Yakima Dwarf Rhododendron

  This is spring in the garden, as we grow older. A yearly reminder of what we once knew -  the magic that is there, if we pay attention. Chartreuse greens bright with wonder and an array of beautiful color bursting from blossoming trees, flowers and shrubs. Scents abounding; even the spring rains have an distinct smell to them. Nature is calling.

"All my hurts my garden spade can heal." 

                                                                            -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Grape Crab Apple

Japanese Maple,

  The moods we have are not the important factors in our experience. Instead, how we interpret, deal with and express them, on our own very personal level, whether it be through writing, gardening, painting, building, sculpting, acting, decorating or through interaction by way of sports. Healing the wounds of the past comes from acknowledgment that whatever you are needing, be it solitude, a lovely place of romanticism in the garden, a tribute to a memory with a meditative spot, a magical garden or just a bright, joyful, playful garden to appease the child within you, - that the place you create is a place of comfort to your soul. It should feel soothing to you like a warm blanket by the fire, or a child wrapped in his or her mother’s arms. The messages of the soul have no judgment factor to them…they are simply making you aware of what you need to resolve to open and walk through the next door.

"Show me your garden ... 

  and I shall show you what you are." ~ Alfred Austin 

 

Honeysuckle Vine on Arbor

White Crab Apple

It is our conscious mind that takes that message and turns it inside out, analyzing the why, what about, what for and how, etc. The soul simply states this needs to be attended to, pay attention so we may understand and move forward.
By intuitively honoring its messages and creating a place for us to interpret and observe our own soul’s landscape: the attributes, characteristics, feelings, fragrances, sounds and colors, as well as the plants that grow there and any sort of means required to rest in this spot, we are honoring those aspects of our self and giving ourselves permission for them to come forth in a safe place and time that we have created.
It's Spring...a time of new beginnings...eggs hatching everywhere around us in nature. Why not create your own chance at hatching a buried treasure, or idea deep inside of you that has been waiting for this moment to arrive. Whether on a city balcony, in a cooperative garden setting, or on your own property...it is a time of new beginnings .... enjoy the beauty of Spring!

Virginia Snow bell, Blue Spruce, Yellow Cyprus

Water garden, Japanese Maple, Japanese Iris, Sedum

So get some paper and a garden catalog, or two. List (or cut pictures out of) the colors, textures, flowers, shrubs, trees and grasses that appeal to you. Look in magazines or on the web and find examples of gardens, follies, benches, chairs, tables, stumps, rocks, shells, statues, etc, that call out to you…"pay attention to me". What does the garden of your soul look like? You will be amazed at the beauty you will create and this in turn will help heal our planet. Springtime is full of the creativity nature offers unfurling into a beautiful creation right before our eyes. Now is the time...Enter the garden!

“A healthy garden is a reflection 

                                     of a healthy soul.” ~Anonymous

And the Seasons, They Go Round and Round....

Welcome back again, Happy Spring!  I am trying to get back to some normalcy in my life, after being gone for quite some time.... a few seasons have passed, as I return with the renewed sense of everything in moderation. Here is my first post in quite some time....

The Japanese Cherry and Rhododendrons at the entrance

      

I always loved the song, "The Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell. 

"And the seasons go round and round, and the painted ponies go up and down, we're captive on a carousel of time." Looking behind, from where I have come, and watching another turn of the seasons, I am humbled. In this crazy life and through these crazy times, our love has prevailed. There is something to be said for never giving up, persistence and nurturing, no matter what. A weakened plant, bush or tree that we become frustrated trying to satisfy, can turn on a dime, with just a bit of extra care and love. A change of place can always do wonders.

A Spring Rainbow Above the Yard

Our two oldest sons are graduating from college within two weeks of each other this month, starting out on their own journeys. The third has begun to drive on his own...they have all matured into fine young men that I am so very proud of. Sorry to indulge myself a bit here,  but I feel this is as much a part of the reflection of a soulful life as any. As I look around the yard at so many memories and dreams that have been realized, I am filled with gratitude for a wonderful life and a well lived experience. Every moment of it, even the trying times, from the loss of loved ones to a few in our family fighting Lyme Disease and other issues in the past couple of years, has been a journey through the seasons of our lives that has been truly amazing.

"So the years spin by and now the boy is twenty
Though his dreams have lost some grandeur coming true
There'll be new dreams, maybe better dreams and plenty
Before the last revolving year is through." -Joni Mitchell

2010 Fall Season - On the Lake Nearby

Here are a few photos of the area around us. The seasons have progressed toward the current Spring season where regeneration and the years gifts begin to unfold around us. May your 2011 year bring you and yours love, peace and wonderful surprises to behold.

2011 End Of the Winter...Mt. Washington

Early Spring Pond Visitors...a bluejay and a hawk

Budding Peach Trees In the Last Spring Snow

A Lovely, Dreamy Sunset among the fields

Bradford Pears, Redbud and Japanese Cherry Trees along the driveway

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".

Magical Creative Gardening

   The gardens are frozen over by snow right now, but underneath, roots are spreading and bulbs are multiplying. There is always an evolution in the works, even when it seems impossible. I have decided to evolve this creativity blog into my gardening journal. The thought germinated after a "Tweet"on Twitter by a gardening enthusiast referenced one of my entries in my painting blog, about our Japanese inspired garden in our backyard.  ( View "The Oasis" at   http://wwwgailallenartist.blogspot.com ) Gardening is, and always has been, as important an aspect in my life, as my artwork. It is an extension of my creativity through use of Spirit's life force. Gardening seems to sustain me - the ongoing joke in our house when I am withering indoors, (I am especially cranky during the dormant season) is that I "need to go dig in the dirt". There has always been a tug of war between creating artwork and getting out into the gardens.....which have become numerous. Over the many, many years gardening has been inspirational, fulfilling, irrational  - even absurd at times,  and sustaining. My husband is my partner in creation and keeps the irrational, artistic side of me in check.  Although not always enthusiastic when first getting wind of my newest "creation", he usually signs on - we seem to have this wonderful check and balance system and each spring we keep going through it again, thanks to two active imaginations.
 A bit of history on my gardening background. I was born to parents who were very creative and came from farming families. We were in the garden from the earliest I can remember and knew most flowers, trees and vegetable names before I was in fourth grade. We scouted for mushrooms on early Sunday mornings after church, under towering pine and oak groves. It seemed magical to me as a child. One of my earliest artworks was a flip book of a mushroom under the pine needles sprouting up. I always had plants growing, even when I lived in the city during college. Then our "real" journey began after getting married and buying our first house on an excavated sand pit! Sand and rocks and clay...oh my. The journey began. After multiple moves, we have settled on five acres which have evolved and expanded into gardens of every possible kind. I will be chronicling lessons learned,  putting up old and new pictures of our gardens,  as well as book lists and other sites I enjoy that you may find helpful in your gardening journey.
I hope this will be inspirational in germinating new growth in your creativity through gardening.  On this eve of a blue moon I would like to Welcome You to 2010 - Happy New Year, may it bring you peace, prosperity and happiness in your garden of life. All the best....