Things to do this week in your garden- 22nd September 2024

Mindful Gardening and Floristry activities to calm your mind and soothe your soul

‘You are shit and no one wants what you have to offer’ was the soundtrack of my week this week. Not from some grim troll on the internet, but from my inner critic.

It started because I spent too much time scrolling on Substack notes and saw people recommending other gardening publications on here and I went down the grim hole of compare and despair.

It was just before bedtime too so I slept awfully that night. When I woke the next day I still felt that low level anxiety and not enough-ness. But my walk back from the school run across the park in our village allowed me to reflect on what else could be going on for me.

I thought I’d share the potential reasons here because lord knows as women we second guess ourselves and doubt our ability all too often and these reasons might make you reassess the next time you find yourself there.

Reason 1- The Moon

A full moon and eclipse season-woah! A recipe for a whole lot of self doubt right there. There is no way as women whose bodies have a monthly cycle, that we are not linked to the phases of the moon.  In fact many of our cycles align with the moon phases.  The moon is nature and so are we so we are inextricably linked.

Reason 2- I was due on

The day after my wobble I started to feel that familiar cramping low down in my stomach and noticed that my boobs were ridiculously sensitive.  Ah ha I thought, my mind has been playing tricks on me dictated by my hormone levels.

Reason 3- My conditioning

In the summer I took 2 weeks off work.  I prepped loads before I went so my newsletter still went out, social posts still talked about the services I was promoting and do you know what? I had the highest level of enquiries I’ve ever had in my business. Plus I had a super relaxing, fun and joy-filled time with friends and family.

For me realistically right now 2 weeks a month off isn’t doable. But I thought to myself, what if I could try for 1 week a month.

That week is next week. I’ve prepped, scheduled and planned so that I can spend more time in my garden, get my nails done, try out the new massage place in my village and meet some friends for brunch. And I am so bloody excited.

So is it any wonder that my conditioning has come a knocking and tried to derail it? That message ingrained in us since birth that we must work harder, give more of ourselves to others otherwise we are destined to fail. That little voice in your head that is keeping you stuck, exhausted and over-giving.

Maybe now is the time that you also tell her to FUCK OFF and start taking small pockets of time for you in your garden every day.

In my moment of doubt I actually subscribed to this other publication people were raving about and I received the first email just now. I flicked through, in a better place mentally now than I was earlier in the week. And even I, as a gardening expert felt overwhelmed by the amount of information in one email.

That’s not to say it wasn’t good information, it was and it had a lovely feel to it. But it was a lot.

It made me think, this is why the Seed is different. It doesn’t throw loads of information at you each week and overwhelm you when you’re already feeling overwhelmed by life.

It’s designed to bring you simple activities that you can go and do in your garden without having to wade through a tonne of information that you don’t have time to read. Because you and I both know that getting out in the garden, getting your hands in the soil and quietening the noise in your busy mind is where the power of gardening lies.

So if you want to cut out all the noise and just get down to taking action in your garden the Seed is for you. Come and give yourself daily time for you by upgrading here.

p.s. If you’re fed up of looking out of your window onto an unloved bland space and you’d love to add some pops of colour to boost your mood come and join me next Monday for The Colour Masterclass. All the details here.

And for those of you who have committed to that regular time in the garden for you, here are this weeks simple, mindful gardening activities here: