Lately I’ve been trying to form the habit of taking a little walk in my garden each morning. I do bring a bucket and pruning shears to be able to remove a bit of unwanted growth here and there, but my main goal is to walk slowly, to connect to the garden, to be mindful and notice what is going on.
This morning I brought my camera with me to share some of the things I noticed.
One of the benefits of taking a more mindful approach to the garden (instead of only going in to do the necessary big maintenance) is that I found things to harvest. I hate to admit it, but I have let bananas and papayas get overripe and eaten by the birds, just because I didn’t take time to really see what was going on in my garden.
Today’s harvest: guavas, green moringa beans (I’m going to try eating them for the first time) and soursop leaves (tea from the dried leaves is said to have a calming effect, among other things that I still need to research).
It was also the first time I tried guava. I really do like the taste. I’m not too fond of the seed though. It’s safe (and even considered healthy) to digest them, but they are very hard to chew and there are a lot of them. I am going to save them and see how if it’s easier to eat them roasted or soaked.
The rest of my morning was spent taking down that tree we removed in January. Yes, really. We left the stump in, since we thought it wouldn’t be able to grow back after being cut down so far. When growth did appear after a few weeks, T. sprayed it with Roundup. I wasn’t too happy about that (this is my orchard and herbal garden, I’d like to keep it safe), but it didn’t work either. The leaves died, but they came back soon and new branches started to grow within a few weeks. Now, after six months, all those new branches were high enough to touch the roof again. So yeah, I had some sawing to do.
I also need to remove some other trees. I planted way too many. And then there are cactuses and thorn bushes and… oh my, I do have my work cut out for me.
But I’ll start my days with walking around slowly and noticing the smaller things. Because that is what makes me feel connected to this land, grounded and happy.
when I take my daily walks (weather permitting) I try to be mindful and notice the neighborhood, the blossoms and the birdsong. It makes my walk immersive. Lovely guava beginnings!!