Photo courtesy of Allison Vallin at www.atastefulgarden.com
That’s how this comment from Stacy on the My Garden Saved My Life post started, and as she put it so well, I’m sharing it here as another guest blog post:
“Gardening is one of the most healing, beautiful things I know of. I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia and am only able to do a fraction of what I used to do. But gardening is only partly about doing. A lot of it is about being–being outside, watching the seasons unfold, smelling honeysuckle on the breeze, observing the lives of bumblebees and toads and birds. (And flowers, of course.) In addition to a small townhouse garden that has perennial beds, I have a 2′ x 4′ “micro-garden” that my Dad has built a frame for. It stands at waist height so that I don’t even have to bend down to work in it, and I grow vegetables in it almost all year long. I’ve never gotten over the awe of watching seedlings sprout–that sense of “Oh, my gosh, it worked again!” To be given that gift of wonder and joy–it’s just priceless when you’re ill. (Or even when you’re well.) Isolation is one of the most difficult facets of chronic illness, and being in a garden reminds you that you really are a part of the world around you.”
Thank you, Stacy! Stacy has her own blog, which is here: microcosm-in-the-q.blogspot.com