Sometimes even the most dedicated gardener needs to take a break. Granted, the ongoing cycle of gardening chores can be gratifying — a “ working meditation,” perhaps — but occasionally that cycle may seem never ending.
This is a great time of year to take a mini-vacation from chores and draw some inspiration from Mother Nature.
On your next day off, turn your back on those weeds waiting to be pulled, and instead visit a local park, a woodland trail, or a sub-alpine meadow. Leave your digital devices at home (or at least turn them off during the walk), and give yourself over to the sights and sounds of nature.
More and more research looks into the benefits of time spent outdoors, away from the urban environment. Benefits reported include decreased anxiety and stress levels, increased attention and better overall mood. Studies also show an enhanced sense of human connection, resulting in an inclination toward generosity and compassion for others.
The nonprofit organization Park Rx America works with health-care providers and public lands nationwide to write prescriptions for time spent in natural environments. Being outside in a place of nature often involves some type of exercise, which helps improve physical and emotional health. So go ahead — skip the last few chores on your to-do list and recharge your internal batteries with a walk with Mother Nature.
Visit a lowland forest and revel in the soft woodland duff on the path that caresses your feet with each step. Stroll slowly down the trail, looking down, marvelling at the tiny twinflowers along the way. Breathe in, enjoying the freshness of the air. If it is an early morning walk, admire the sunbeams piercing the darkness of the forest as the sun crests the horizon.
Turn off that cellphone. Forget your earbuds and listen to the sounds of the forest. If you are very lucky, there may even be a moment of silence, a rare opportunity of auditory space, a rest for the ears from the constant barrage of noise in our daily lives. Appreciate the high-pitched sound of the varied thrush, the musical aria of the winter wren.
Take some time to appreciate the disorderly order of nature — the seemingly random groupings of Western sword fern, low Oregon grape, salal, evergreen huckleberry, spring beauty and trillium that work so well together. Could a formally designed urban yard ever achieve this level of cohesiveness and diversity?
Setting aside a very long to-do list, this gardener recently took a mini-vacation to indulge in the natural beauty of Mount Rainier National Park, which offers mountain views, summertime wildflower meadows and hiking trails.
The air was pleasantly cool and the skies impossibly blue and clear. A sea of bright-red paintbrush flowers greeted us as we arrived. After donning sun hats, applying sunscreen and grabbing water bottles and a few snacks, we set out for our daily dose of natural inspiration. Very soon we were walking through gardens of exquisite natural splendor.
These gardens were truly designed by a master! Colors ranged from the yellows of heartleaf arnica, the blues of alpine sky pilot or Jacob’s ladder, the creams of coiled-beak lousewort and the magenta-reds of Indian paintbrush. Great symphonies of color played out over the meadows, defying any garden designer’s guidelines about what colors should be planted together. Oh, what a magnificent display!
A stop along the way to simply take this all in allowed time for a deep breath of the fragrance of the meadows. A mix of lupine, Sitka valerian and mountain bistort offered a scentual delight.
Mount Rainier towered above the meadows, seeming to urge us onward, each step offering something else to exclaim about: the drop of dew on a lupine leaf, the bit of weathered gnarled wood, the polished stone underfoot where perhaps a million feet before us had stepped. Upward, we trekked to the alpine zone, where plants grow close to the ground in a cushioned mat to withstand harsh weather.
Minuscule pockets of soil tucked between rock allowed the low alpine pussypaws to spread their pinkish flowers in small carpets. We marveled at the tenacity and adaptability of these plants to survive in such a harsh environment and to have developed the ability to thrive in less than optimal conditions.
The compelling beauty of this scene did wonders to erase any lingering tension or preoccupation with that to-do list, any challenges or worries. The high-pitched “peep” of a pika standing guard on a boulder, the bit of goat fur on a low branch, the ravens’ aerial antics were all gifts of this day.
We departed with gratitude for the opportunity to be present to the inspiration offered by such natural beauty.
Pam Roy of Planscapes is an award-winning landscape designer with more than 35 years of experience. Contact her via email at info@planscapesdesign.com or by calling 425-238-4678. Visit www.planscapesdesign.com for more information.
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