Gardening Becomes a Spiritual Journey

Partners in Creation. Gardeners tend to be a spiritual lot—understandably so. While in so much human endeavor, we can delude ourselves how independent and in control we are, the garden teaches otherwise. Daily, we are reminded how much and little credit we can take for the beauty which springs up around us.

A recent visit to a lavender farm was a case in point. Our senses were on overload. The landscape undulated with a mounded sea of purples, pinks and whites. Waves of an herb-y scent rose into the still air. A faint humming and stirring filled the silence around us. At the entrance to one field, a yellow sign whimsically reminded the visitor that an army of tiny creatures were at work in the growing process. I spotted not only bees but dragonflies flitting from flower stalk to flower stalk. And at the end of the line, a lavender ‘still’ harked back to days when our forefathers and mothers turned to the natural ingredients around them for the medicines and healing herbs that made their lives not just more beautiful, but healthier as well.

We are creatures of the earth, our garden home. The soil from which our life springs and to which it returns demands our respect and loving care. Gardeners, I believe, understand this better than anybody.