I grow a stubborn garden. It was inspired by the beautiful gardens of Villandry in France. It was also inspired by my Italian grandparents who had orchards and gardens for as long as I can remember.
My garden is only a 12 x 12 foot plot I hacked out of the shrubbery adjacent to my back yard cement patio. I put a little fence around it, the kind you buy in two foot sections at the gardening section of the hardware store and it about one foot tall. The soil is clay. There is not much light. I can grow tomatoes and chard, but I have attempted radishes, turnips, lettuce, blackberries, blueberries, carrots, pineapples, celery, brussels sprouts, cabbages, and arugula. Even the flowers I tried to grow withered. For eight years I have been at it, pulling weeds and planting seeds and talking to them to grow. (I give Reiki too)
The garden is also where I compost all of the non-meat and non-dairy wastes from my kitchen. I compost French style, with a hole in the ground. Actually three--a fresh one, an older one, and the oldest which has the fresh composted material. I have composted my Christmas tree, any clippings from the front yard (which grows lovely flowers), egg cartons, and shredded paper. And always the coffee grounds, too.
One day, while working in the garden, I asked with my heart, 'Gaia? What can I do for you to help you heal from all of this pollution?'
The answer nearly knocked me over! 'You have done more to help me with this garden than anything else you could ever do.' There was an intelligence and a presence to that response that was strong and steady. 'Okay then' I answered, and I set about my work, thinking that Gaia likes fat nightcrawlers and beetles, the ones who compost the food.
Sometimes I get backed up, and I put small plastic buckets of food wastes out on the patio until I can put them into the compost piles. Sometimes when I am busy there can be like, eight small buckets until the weekend. Something appears to show an interest in these buckets, and it is not a rat but I am not sure what. (there is no poop around the buckets).
On New Year's Eve, I learned who it was:
I did not know they could live in the neighborhood!
So even if it is only a hummingbird feeder (I have those too), a fountain (the birds like the water), a bird feeder (had one in medical school), or a compost pile, little lives can depend on your lovingkindness.
Start helping Gaia today. Just ask. She'll listen. And you might be surprised at Her reply.
