For the last 23 years, I have been reading gardening books, gardening magazines, garden catalogues and lurking in garden centers just to find out as much as I can about plants, particularly perennials. My kids will attest to the fact that I also talk to my plants, call them my babies and that once Sarah, then around 5 but now 14, asked me if I loved my garden more than I loved her. Of course, that brought on an attack of the mother guilts but here we all are, 9 years later, happily (for the most part) co-existing! They expect to find me outside most weekends from April to November, tending to one thing or another, happily snipping and pulling and spraying (organic only of course), chatting and cursing (bleeping woodchucks) or just sitting out there waiting for the next hummingbird to visit my salvia. And you should see the bees on my thyme in July, divine!
To add to this, in 2014 I was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time in three years. During my journey through surgery, chemo, radiation, a BRCA2 discovery and yet more tests, I did a great deal of pondering about how I want to be in my spiritual life. For many years now, I have had a vision of building a series of healing gardens around the world but have struggled with getting from here to there. Then one day last year, the path forward came to me – I will gift one plant at a time. My intuition told me that the plant to use is purple coneflower (aka Echinacea Purpurea) as I have always been attracted to it. The purple/pink is the color of healing and medicinally, Echinacea supports the immune system which is critical when going through Cancer.
I purchased small coneflower plants and new pots, planted them in organic soil and embued the plants with the energy of love, peace and connection. I initially gave them out to family and friends, paying back the love and support I received during my Cancer journey. I donated some to my daughters’ school’s butterfly garden, to the Healing Garden in Harvard and left a few on the doorsteps of strangers just because!
To add to this, my daughter Victoria, who is 17 and loves art, created the ‘sign’ that comes with each flower and both Victoria and Sarah are helping deliver them, so this is a family affair.
Please check out the following interview I did for local TV at http://www.youtube.com/user/sequinofkindness. We discuss my flower gifting vision which I call “You’ve Been Flowered”. I am featured in Episode 6.
Purple Coneflower: This plant is a staple of many gardens in the NorthEast. It comes in a variety of different colors beyond purple although the purple is actually pink and it flowers in mid-summer. The less exotic version of this plant is pretty drought tolerant once established and in my garden, I grow it in many places in full sun. It’s great for attracting butterflies and bees and looks amazing when grown with Russian Sage. Leave on the seed heads after the flowers have died and you’ll see goldfinches swinging backwards and forwards on the stems, having a grand feast. From a healing perspective, it’s Latin name is Echinacea and is used to boost the immune system and energetically, it brings grounding and laughter into the garden.
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