The Garden Awakening: Designs to nurture our land and ourselves

But surely this is better than suffocating the land with concrete and herbaceous borders? That method tends to be fast and convenient, and may be more accepted by our culture and the gardening industry, but it doesn’t encourage an intimate relationship between you and the land – or any connection at all, for that matter.

Co-creating a garden with nature involves lots of listening. Careful observation and understanding about which plants the land is willing to support, and which ones it isn’t. This is key. The aim is to achieve harmony and balance. Working with rather than against your land is vital, your overall goal being to restore health to the land.

Mostly, people stopped growing food themselves less than a hundred years ago. Vegetable gardens were replaced with lawns, which gradually became symbols of status. It was a way of saying to neighbours, "Hey, look at how wealthy we are! We don’t even have to use our land to grow our own food!"

Gardening like this involves having an intimate relationship with nature. No college degree is necessary; in fact, for this type of garden it is probably a waste of time, as formal schooling may actually block your ability to hear the subtle voices of the land.

As above, so below. We are simply a mirror image of each other, the land and us. That connection is deep and mysterious, and only becomes apparent upon close observation and contemplation. We have objectified most of our land; used and abused it. Land is the embodiment of feminine energy, and our treatment of it reflects the way women have become o

If we all sit up and take notice, “believe in fairies” and encourage the life energy to emerge in every piece of land we work with, we can infuse our homes, our families and ourselves with the healing, magical energy of the earth.

They were referred to as ‘sacred places’;

In order to manifest something, you need to imagine that your wish has already come to fruition, otherwise you are holding the vision for it in the future. The present is where and when the gift should arrive. Saying thank you for your desired outcome, rather than wishing for it, is the best way around this.

If you explore the world of sacred geometry, I guarantee you will be amazed at the beauty and harmony that exists in the shapes and patterns of all things.