Looking back over 2013 I have to admit it was a difficult year, punctuated with my accident and operations, yet it was still a happy one. The thing that kept me going and lifted my flagging motivation was our new home and garden.
There were many highs and lows and I won’t talk about them all here – just the ones that happened in the garden.
Starting the year in a wheelchair was one low point, finding out that my wildflower meadow wasn’t growing was another, but ending the year walking around the garden planting flowers was the high.
It has been some high too. I have learned more about what it is to experience joy and peace. I can’t explain this to you other than by saying it is the absence of self; an absence that removes worry and stress. You don’t really notice it when it happens – you are so busy experiencing it in that moment.
Apart from the sheer joy of gardening, I learned a huge amount about growing flowers and vegetables and my thinking underwent some big changes.
I became interested in permaculture and decided to implement some permaculture principles. We also got this small flock of hens and they have proved a wonderful addition to our garden, plus they lay great eggs!
This has been one of the best things for me. I can no longer do all of the physical work involved in conventional gardening but that’s okay because permaculture has shown me that there are lots of other easier methods and I hope to be sharing some of these options with you in this new year.
When it comes to gardening, easy is good. If it is easier, more people will do it, and if more people do it – the more fun and joy will be going around and all the better for us and our world.
So for now, I wish you all fun and joy, and a very Happy New Year in the garden.
Grace
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