Early summer in the garden is just so vibrant that one needs no words. Photos are all that's needed...

The gardens always shine in May and this year even more so. We've had lovely weather and we've also been feeding the garden with some really great stuff! We do soil drenches and foliar feeding (using a hand held sprayer) with some of Steve's compost tea as well as a mix of fish emulsion and liquid kelp too. And this year I've created, with the help of the garden helpers,an amazing product called "The Garden Blend Essence Kit". It has five different flower essence blends made specifically to support and balance the garden environment. And this year the garden is shining! Rather than talk about it, here's some photos to enjoy!  Happy Spring everybody!

 It's New Year's eve and I've discovered a summer bloomer in the garden! A beautiful pink Echinacea is blooming in the midst of the winter season, even after a hard frost. As a flower essence the energy signature of Echinacea is "deep healing on all levels". After the tumultuous year we've experienced in 2017, I feel it's gift and message is one of renewal. There will be a deep healing going on in 2018. In numerology 2018 is an 11 year, a master number which signifies illumination and inspiration. As our hearts heal and open to the new year I think we'll be inspired to do great things. A grassroots movement of change is underway as more and more awaken to a better, more gentle way of treating each other and the Earth. The first stirrings of unity are being felt in the collective. The powers that be do not have our best interests at heart,and as a people we're starting to see that. It's time for a change. Our heart light and love will grow brighter as the ones with dark intent continue their lies and poisons and games of control. In the years ahead they'll be no match to our brilliance but this is just the beginning. The seeds of love have been planted and it's up to us to nurture them and help them grow. Just like my beautiful summer bloomer on a winter day,the light and love will continue to shine no matter what. It has only just begun...

  The winter solstice closes the door on the events of the year. It is the quiet pause between fall and winter, the time to sleep more, dream more and create our lives anew. Many will be happy to close the door on this crazy year. It has been a tumultuous time for all of us. In the U.S. it has been a game-changer on all fronts. No matter what side of the fence you sit on (or don't!) the political scene has been intense and people are waking up, speaking out and making their voices heard. The next day after the new administration was sworn in, we had a most incredible Women's March, supported by husbands,fathers sons, friends. And now as the year closes,we have the "me too' movement where many are speaking up, both women and men, bringing the atrocities of hidden (or not so hidden) abuse out into the open. Justice is being served.
  On the weather front,my oh my,we've had an interesting year on our planet. Yes,the climate is changing and a huge balancing and cleansing is underway. And it has not been easy. All of our hearts and arms have stretched to comfort those who are suffering. There have been huge clean-ups and loss of homes during hurricanes,floods and fires.People and animals have been displaced and it has been heart wrenching at times. This "re-boot" of lives is a huge theme these days. Another theme is the story of world-wide abuse,greed and power which is now fully visible for all to see. It held sway for too long,hidden in the trenches,and now the abuse is coming out into the light of day. You can't change what you can't see and now it's changing. And that's a good thing.
  In my conversations with Gaia, she is in the midst of her own birthing process, just like we are, and it's intense. But she is happy for the light and that things are changing. She asks us to love ourselves deeply so that we may love her more fully. That's how the abuse of the Earth will end, one healed heart at a time.It will take work on our part and courage as we support each other through this heart healing process. It's not easy as we uncover our painful childhood wounds, unworthiness issues and sometimes abuse. We'll need each other more than ever to help each other through this.The gift will be a planet full of open hearts,as our love spills out into the world and to our precious Earth.The wars we wage with each other and the Earth will fall away as do the poisons of war. Poison doesn't exist in a state of unity, only through division. The honeybees speak of this often with me. They ask me to spread the message of peace so they may thrive. Because they live in unity, a bit of poison brought home to the hive,will kill the hive. The same goes with us. 
  On this Solstice night, let us dream the dream of healing and connection to all. Let us sing the song and dance the dance of Unity that we learn from the beehive. The bees know how to live. It's now time for us to follow their lead... 

Thanksgiving marks the time when the cold seeps in and life in the vegetable garden comes to a close. The fruit trees and perennial flower beds have moved their energy from leaf to root for the winter, while the annuals are finishing up the season with their last flowers and fruits. The summer birds have gone south while the hawks, red-winged blackbirds, juncos, doves, quails, goldfinch and woodpeckers are busy at the feeding station. We still have a few hummers too. They'll be with us through the winter months and we'll continue to fill feeders and throw out seed. We provide extra goodies on the snow-days when the ground gets covered in white.We picked the last of the basil and made our final batch of pesto. That has been a yummy addition to our summer diet! The chard is beautiful this time of year and we'll continue to harvest until it gets really cold. It then slows it's growth until the first warm days of spring and we'll begin to harvest again. The garlic was planted under a hoop-house in early October. They'll grow slowly through the winter, coming alive in the spring for a May harvest. We picked all the tomatoes and tomatillos we could before the hard freeze. Now every window is covered with ripening tomatoes! We're so blessed to have such a spectacular bounty this year. The last harvest of the season comes soon when we pick the beans. Huge bean pods are now drying on the vine and what was once a "wall of flowers" are now pods full of brightly colored beans! We'll be shucking them by the fire all winter long. Steve and I have much to be thankful for. We have windowsills full of fruit, two freezers full of garden bounty, a jar of fresh pesto in the fridge,fresh chard in the garden and a colorful bean harvest to come. Nature has been good to us. Life in the garden is good...

It's fall in the garden and the roses are shining! It's their final splash of color before the cold seeps in and their energy returns to the roots for a winter's rest. The deciduous trees are doing the same dance, as leaves turn gold against an autumn sky. It's beautiful in the garden,especially as the roses bloom to catalog perfection. Big buds burst open in bright colors, no longer faded by summer heat. And the fragrance,my oh my, it's spectacular! My nose moves from flower to flower, each perfume stronger than the last. There are even a few late season bumblebees enjoying the bouquet! Buried in pollen, they lap up the last nectar of the season. All too soon winter's cold will fade the flowers and the bustling insect activity will quiet until spring. In the meantime we'll enjoy the bold colors and heady perfume of the "queens of the garden". A rose is a rose...and aren't we lucky enough to live among them?

I was meditating one morning, enjoying the busy sounds of honeybees as they collected nectar and pollen from a salvia bush close by. I opened my eyes to watch them for a moment, noticing a group of ants that had gathered below the bush. They had over-taken a big green Katydid and it's legs were still moving so I knew it was alive. I thought to myself, "We'll have none of this in the garden this morning!" and I told the ants they needed to back off and leave the Katydid alone. It was a cold morning and the Katydid was probably vulnerable as it tried to warm itself, and the ants, being ants, took advantage of it's weakness. I scooped him up and gently blew off all the ants, not killing them of course but letting them know they could busy themselves elsewhere. The Katydid was in shock and it just laid on it's side, though it's antennae were moving about. I softly blew on him to revive him a bit, telling him he was lovely, which he really was. I told him the ants needed to learn that violence in the garden wasn't necessary and in picking him up and blowing them off, they got the message loud and clear. As he lay in my hand I resumed my meditation. When I was finished he started to move around a little more and he sat upright. I think it helped him. I placed him on a beautiful dahlia flower and he thanked me. I replied that it was my joy and my pleasure and it made me happy to help him. I told him we were all learning how to love in the garden, which meant loving everything in the garden. He hopped off the flower and I smiled. Love in the garden begins with us...