Gardening for the Soul

I've been enjoying my yard. Seedlings are growing. I've planted marigolds, bush string beans, cantaloupe, watermelon, zinnias, cosmos and sunflowers. My favorite flower is the sunflower. I brought seeds back from Tuscany about 5 years ago. When I first moved into this house I planted them all over my yard. Since then I've made it a tradition to keep them growing. Sunflowers are happy plants and make me smile.

On a metaphysical level, sunflowers are the perfect flower to activate the solar plexus. The yellow color and the happy energy provides a perfect activation for increasing joy and self-esteem. Hmmm . . . perhaps I could assign a flower for each chakra. Let's see

• Crown - white calla lily




• Third Eye - African Violet




• Throat - periwinkle blue plumbago




• Heart - pink roses




• Solar Plexus - sunflowers




• Navel - orange marigolds




• Root - Red Geraniums

Gardening is grounding and yet highly spiritual at the same time. I am grateful I have a yard so I can pull weeds of the past and plant seeds for the future. I enjoy watering the gardening, fertilizing and nurturing each and every plant and tree. I am grateful!

Only a Rose . . .

I love to garden. Gardening is good for my soul, my mind, my heart and my body. As I headed into my garage after a full day of running errands today, my garden called me. I had to see if my newly planted trees needed a drink of water. The roses captured my attention. So I stopped to smell the roses. I ended up trimming the rosebush and picking a few blossoms to place around my home. They graced our table tonight while Vincent and I had dinner. I have another vase of them near me here in my living room as well.

Rose bushes like to be trimmed. I was taught to cut the blossom just above the first set of 5 leaves. It is said to promote healthy growth and more blossoms. It's also important to dead head rose bushes. Dead heading is not related to the Grateful Dead in this case. It means that one should take off the dead blossoms or the rosehips.

It's a similar concept to removing the dead wood or that which is no longer useful. By removing the dead flowers or branches allows for the energy of the plant to go to new growth and creating new blossoms. Likewise, use this gardening tip for your life. Remove what is no longer working or draining of energy so that the new may bloom in your life. There are numerous analogies relating to gardening literally that are lessons in spiritual and personal growth.

A good example of this is the story, The Secret Garden, which is one of my favorite children's novels. Actually it's a novel or story for all ages. This novel has been made into a movie - more than once. The story of The Secret Garden was the inspiration for the name of my store, The Crystal Garden. I wanted to create a place where people could go to heal, to feel safe and to have a magical experience. Take the time to read this book and then visit The Crystal Garden. You'll pick up on the analogy.



It's glorious weather here in South Florida today. I think our high was 71 degrees and sunny. Paradise does exist. If you ever want to have a spiritual vacation, come to Boynton Beach to go to the beach, enjoy the glorious weather and attend all types of classes at The Crystal Garden.

Sending you roses and sunshine,

Margaret