Veggie Garden Therapy
Veggie gardens not only nourish our bodies, they nourish our souls. Some of the people I meet with speak with me about the vegetable gardens in their backyard or at a nearby plot. As a vegetable gardener myself, I know the peace, admiration, and gratitude I feel being in the garden, with the generous gifts of these plants and their calm, patience presence. As a psychotherapist I have the great privilege of being able to be on the phone with clients, while I sit in my veggie garden, and they in theirs, while we share in our gratitude and discuss the things happening in their lives.
Doing therapy in our vegetable gardens not only offers a peaceful setting for us to do the important work of reflection and opening pain, the plants themselves offer comfort, reveal lessons we might not otherwise notice, and enable a gentle curiousity. Being vegetable gardeners we learn about give and take in our relationships with the plants; we offer water, good soil, and a welcoming space, and the plants generously share their gifts of food, flowers, and a nourishing presence.
I often am witness to the magic and power of Mother Earth and her healing capacity. While discussing themes with clients of legacies of intergenerational trauma and healing, the plants too show us that we can transform what has passed and intentionally foster life. Old matter comes to rot, and this can become nutrient rich compost, that supports new plants to grow, and if we tend to them, they in turn benefit us, as well as the pollinators, worms, insects, birds, and beyond. We can take what might otherwise harm us and intentionally be part of nourishing life for the benefit of many.
Right now the gold finches have been visiting my vegetable garden. They are enjoying nibbles of kale, swiss chard, and pine nuts as they prepare for their long flight South. Their playful presence gifts me with a sense of joy as I send them prayers for a safe journey and will await their return in the spring. Nutrients from my garden will be carried across the continent and help these little ones on their great migration. Our collective gardens, spaces for fostering growth, contribute to much wider cycles of nourishment.
The healing that takes place from my garden, and the gardens of those I work with, support us personally, and the ripples of those lessons and gifts circulate into our relationships and beyond. The next time you are in your garden, or eat produce from someone’s garden, call to mind all the nutrients that came to be in this plant, and how you too can be part of transforming what needs to decay into life giving gifts.
Earth blessings.
Sincerely,
Melissa Clews-Hunt, MSc, RP, RMFT-SM