Insights from a Master Gardener about the Resurgence of Life through Gardening

The best time to experience the resurgence of life on planet Earth is to be in a garden during spring. Now that spring is here, it is time to get your hands dirty. The rich, spring Earth draws you outside to nature and the garden. Native cultures call our planet Mother Earth in a metaphorical sense, because it is the source of life, the womb of life where a mysterious process of renewal and healing originates. Earth is the source of all life, and our kinship with its terra firma is a vital one.

Early spring is here in England. The days are getting warmer and longer. Buds, blossoms, and leaves are appearing, and wildlife is becoming more active. The change in seasons and reemergence of life gets our blood pumping. It wakes us up and makes us happy!

Spring gardening is an amazing way to refresh your being after a long winter. Getting your hands into Mother Earth’s loamy soil and watching all the new growth deeply affects our state of mind. It is satisfyingly productive too!

Ponder this—growing food or foraging for what nature grew for us, coupled with experiencing the power of dramatic seasonal changes, was the main focus of our ancestral lives. This connection with nature is imprinted in our bodies and bones, even though modern life often distracts us from these instinctive activities. The resurgence of life in nature still rules, one way or another!

A while ago I interviewed Louise Reed, a professional gardener in London as well as a professional yoga instructor. I asked her to speak about nature and the seasons. She used to maintain one of the garden squares in London, which are little havens of parkland in built-up residential neighborhoods. The square Louise looked after, Ladbroke Square, is the largest in the city, spilling over with ornamental flowers, shrubs, and trees. It is home to resident families of birds, squirrels, and even a family of foxes.

As mentioned, Louise is also a yoga teacher, so the profound insights she shares in this conversation stem from that additional perspective.

Q: How did you come to be a professional gardener and a yoga teacher?

I moved from London to Somerset, England, when I was little, so I grew up in the countryside. Later I studied fine art at university. When I was about 25, my husband and I moved back to London a few years after we had our daughter. I wrote some simple lists to help me decide what sort of job I could feasibly do—one that would also make me happy, that included what I like and don’t like. The things I liked were being outside, the countryside, shapes, light, color, design, and being physical. It all pointed to being a gardener.

I arrived at Iyengar yoga because, after having practiced a few different styles of hatha yoga, Iyengar yoga worked for me. It is a precise way of teaching and practicing. It is also the least injurious.

Yoga is an art, a science, and a philosophy that needs full attention—but not in a scary, “school-like” way. It can only be of benefit—just like gardening!

Q: How does yoga complement gardening?

The two activities complement one another, for sure. I have to be mindful of the way I use my body in the garden at all times, like trying not to use just one side of my body, for instance, when I am digging or raking. 

But I find the weather and elements play a big role in the way my body feels and functions. In my yoga practice, it feels the same as it does when I walk into nature and experience the resurgence of life. There is space in the body and mind—freedom! Yoga complements gardening perfectly.

I feel very happy to work in both areas. There is endless learning to be done, with exciting things to be discovered, both in gardening and yoga. I like that. As we get older, all sorts of things happen to our bodies. It is important to note the changes and not fixate on them or ignore them. You need to work with what you have.

Q: What are your reactions to the change in seasons? Do you have a favorite? 

Ooh, well, I’m quite sensitive. I see and feel the change in all the seasons very strongly. There is great stuff occurring in each season. All seasons are beautiful with a resurgence of life, each in their own way.

Autumn is utterly beautiful. I should say that autumn in the garden can also bring a feeling of sadness. I find in impending winter, with the approach of longer nights and shorter days, death—as all the leaves drop off the trees and plants start dying back. But this is important to experience, because of course we all die eventually. Gardening helps put that into perspective, and you realize that, actually, it is okay. It is the cycle of life. Again, it’s important not to avoid those feelings but to move through them. Even when there is darkness, there is light within us, so that is where we must look. Yoga helps with this.

Winter is kind of quiet, it’s like a pause—an opportunity to have a clear-up in the garden, to clear up and prepare for the spring that often I can’t believe is going to arrive at all. My joints are stiffer at this time, and I wear millions of layers to try to keep warm. But it feels good to move—in whatever way. In spring a stirring of exciting new things comes into the garden! There is hope, as plants that have been forgotten now reappear with brand-new little shoots and buds.

I love summer! It's my favorite season, for sure. My body loves it, and my mind does, too. My skin adores to be seen by the sun (with factor cream on, of course). The garden usually requires a lot of watering and weeding. The mowing of lawns slows down as bright roses and the other summer flowers smile at me. I feel supple and light.

All seasons are a feast for the senses. To hone and tune into simple sounds of nature in the garden is both a treat and a tonic. It feels good for the soul. I never feel lonely. There are also all sorts of creatures to observe. Nature is busy, and so is my mind. Therefore, the gardening and yoga work that I do complement one another so well.

Q: Is there a particular season that you find to be more work for a gardener? How do you manage that?

Autumn is the hardest time for me—usually because, in the big private garden square I work with, I spend weeks and weeks raking and collecting leaves. But the great thing is that I can realign and rebalance myself in the evening with my yoga practice, a sequence that I designed based on the various aches and pains I may have that day.

In the summer, it is easier to put myself into yoga poses, but this means that I perhaps find it harder to work on a deeper level, because my awareness simply isn’t there. It is a more subtle process for me at this point of the year and, if I’m not careful, I will injure myself.

Q: What are your views on our connection with nature?

If one lives in the city as I do, I think it is so important to make an effort to connect with nature. It’s easy to let days and weeks pass by without visiting or even being in a natural, green space with the resurgence of life. I live in a particularly urban area of London and walk to work. I’m always inquisitive and sensitive about my surroundings. But the moment I open the gate to the garden square in springtime and walk into it, it is like drinking a glass of really refreshing water. I can feel it in my eyes—the moisture. I can’t really explain it in other words.

The “green” fills me up. It feels clean and exciting, like the resurgence of life. And what a relief! I think it is vital for human beings to find opportunities to absorb nature in whatever way they can. For example, I like touching and feeling the soil, connecting to what is beneath my feet. Wondering how and where the Earth, all of us, and all creatures came from is humbling, and I enjoy it. I like feeling the air, wind, rain, sun on my face. It amazes me and makes me feel alive and—importantly—present.