Enlightened Awareness in the Garden

The Latin word for ‘cultivate’, colere, means both ‘to till’ and ‘to cherish’ .

How appropriate!

‘Tilling’ your garden helps you to cherish Nature and become more 'watchful' of nature's processes.

Going out before the heat of the day in summer you can see Nature’s serendipitous ‘co-incidents’ close at hand. The fragrant, multihued display of flowers is not meant to delight us but to catch an insect’s eye - this is a glorious way to ensure pollination of each blossom and hybrid seed production.

  

 Indeed,  the symphony of the natural world is a medley of synchronous events working together, ever changing throughout the “striped coat of climates, this fourfold year…” that Ralph Waldo Emerson termed it.

Cultivating our observation of Nature leads to serene acceptance.  For example, in spring, you may see the fluffy white seedpods of the Cottonwood trees on everything, making a 'mess'. But this ‘cottony’ mass  that covers everything is used by birds to make the softest nest Nature can provide. What a lovely , soft way to disperse tree seeds during nesting season! No longer a mess, we see it as mattress padding for baby robins.

Similarly, in blustery autumn, as oak trees drop their acorns, industrious squirrels bury these hard coated seeds for their winter food supply. The trees couldn’t ask for better seed sowers for future mighty oaks!

So noting  the weather, sky, plants, animals, sounds, terrain and anything else illustrates how all ― even lowly earthworms ― are all essential parts within a harmonious tapestry, woven together.

Next time you are in your backyard, watch the network of life that inhabits your surroundings.

 It is from this enlightened viewpoint that the best garden design ideas emerge.