From Seed to Sanctuary: Cultivating Outer Gardens and Inner Transformation

A Sacred Space for Reflection, Connection, and Growth

Welcome to this weeks Mindful Gardening Newsletter No. 48. I recognize that this is coming close to being a years production of this newsletter. I have had great fun sharing this journey that I call creating a garden of grace (with the help of others).

The format of this newsletter is ever changing and for 2025 this is likely to continue as I refine the kind of content that is to be shared. This week I want to introduce you to an idea that I will be sharing as an adjunct to this newsletter.

This is an add-on called Inner Gardening Wisdom which will be a paid subscription. This publication explores the art of inner cultivation—offering insights, practices, and inspiration to help you deepen your connection to yourself and the world around you. Through soulful reflections, poetic musings, and gentle guidance, Inner Gardening Wisdom invites you to nurture resilience, plant seeds of joy, and flourish from within.

Bullet Points Mindful Gardening Newsletter 48

Sacred Spaces in the Garden – Inspired by my time in India, I’m creating a tree shrine—a space of reflection, beauty, and connection to nature’s wisdom. Could this be a practice for your own garden?

An Investment in Growth – I took the leap and bought a heated propagator to nurture new life from seed. Will it be worth it? Time will tell, but I have big plans for Bells of Ireland and Geum!

Kahlil Gibran on Nature’s Playfulness – “Forget not that the earth delights in your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” A reminder that the garden is not just something we tend—it tends to us in return.

Transformation Through Gardening – Master Gardener is more than just a film—it’s a meditation on redemption, healing, and the metaphor of cultivating both land and soul. A must-watch for those who see gardening as more than just planting.

And more……

Creating a Tree Shrine

When I lived in India for a year, I was aware of the way in which Hindu’s create shrines around trees and decorate them with symbols. Given the storms that have taken down so many trees I have decided that in addition to planting trees in the garden I would explore creating my own tree shrine.

Creating a tree shrine is a beautiful way to honor nature, spirituality, and personal connection to the Divine. Whether for meditation, reflection, or sacred offerings, a tree shrine can become a powerful focal point for inner and outer transformation. Here are some ideas to inspire your creation:

Choosing the Tree

• Sacred Trees: Select a tree with personal or spiritual significance. Oak (strength), willow (intuition), alder (resilience), and pine (endurance) are common choices.

• Ancestral Connection: Choose a tree with a deep familial or cultural meaning. For example, here in Ireland we have the hazel tree which is connected to the mythical story of the Salmon of Wisdom. The hazel tree is also associated with the experience of spiritual awakening as shared in the poetry of W. B. Yeats – Song of Wandering Angeus – “I went out to the hazel wood.”

• Natural Energy: Observe which tree you feel most drawn to—one with a strong presence, shade, or a welcoming feel.

• Environment: - Make sure the tree is suitable for the conditions in which you intent to plant it. If it’s very wet, then a good choice is willow or alder. I find willow gets blown over in the increasingly strong winds that blow through Cordressagagh. Such is NOT the case with alder.

Creating a Sacred Space

• Ground Preparation: Clear the area around the tree, keeping it natural while making space for sitting or standing. I have an alder tree around which I planted a lawn of camomile by way of camomile tea bags. It remains to be seen if this lawn will bloom. There’s another tree which has a natural seating limb and I intend to create a seating area around this.

• Stone Circle or Path: Create a small ring of stones or a natural pathway leading to the tree to define its sacred nature.

• Offerings Area: Place a flat rock, a wooden platform, or a small altar beneath or beside the tree.

3. Decorations and Symbols

• Prayer Flags or Ribbons: Tie colorful ribbons, fabric strips, or small bells to the branches to symbolize prayers carried by the wind. In Stewart’s Grove we have surrounded the grove with Tibetan prayer flags in remembrance of Stew who I met when we where both engaged Buddhists in London.

• Sacred Symbols: Use stones, carvings, or small statues (Buddha, Ganesh, angels, or personal deities) around the base.

• Wind Chimes: Add soft, melodic sounds to invoke a sense of peace and harmony. I have a lot of wind chimes in the garden courtesy of my dear friend John Wilmot – The Woodland Bard. I find that the wooden ones are the ones that I hear.

• Candles or Lanterns: Place LED candles or solar lanterns for gentle illumination in the evening.

A tree shrine is an evolving, living sanctuary—an extension of your own spiritual journey. Over time, it becomes imbued with energy, intention, and presence, offering a place of refuge, inspiration, and connection to the sacredness of life.

The Expensive Propagator – An Investment in Growth

This week I invested in an expensive propagator which I think will repay itself in a very short time. One of the favorite plants that I have in this garden is Geum. To buy these online or in the garden centre is about €12.00 each. I want to grow them from seed, but I need to have a constant and reliable heating system to keep the seeds at the right temperature. Thus, the purchase. I also want to try and grow Bells of Ireland simply because I love the name.

The fun thing about Geum in addition to its beauty is that it self-seeds. When we tidied the St. Bridget’s Garden early in the year, I found a great many self-seeded geum close to where there were mature geum plants. This is a great gift. I love it when I find plants I love that have self-seeded.

Quotation of the Week

Forget not that the earth delights in your bare feet and the winds want to play with your hair – Kahlil Gibran

I love to share what I think are great quotations. This quotation is apt at the moment because the winds that are blowing through Cordressagagh would tear your hair out (if you have any). The phrase “the earth delights in your bare feet” reminds me that late last year I planted a lot of camomile tea bags in order to see if I could create a camomile lawn. At the moment there is no sign of any lawn awakening to the light.

Kahlil Gibran’s words remind us that nature is not just something we tend—it tends to us in return. The earth welcomes our bare feet, inviting us to ground ourselves in the present moment, while the wind stirs something playful and free within us, encouraging lightness and release.

Just as a garden flourishes with care, so too does our inner landscape when we allow ourselves to be fully present with the elements. Walking barefoot on the earth is not merely an act of contact; it is an act of communion, a reminder that we are part of something vast, alive, and reciprocal. Inner gardening begins with this awareness—the understanding that tending to the outer world reflects how we nurture ourselves, rooting deeply in the soil of our own being and letting the winds of change stir new possibilities within.

I Listen to the Wind in my Soul

Given that there has been a lot of rain this week and the ground is sodden I have been writing a lot. In doing so I spend some time researching the topic I am writing about.

When I found the above quote by Kalib Gibran, it reminded me of a favourite song that I play on guitar and which I used to sing to people on their birthday in those times when Bee and I went to the Earthsong Festival. I still love to sing it. This reminds me to listen to the wind in my soul.

A Recommended Movie – Master Gardener

I love to share what I think is inspiration. I love movies about redemption where the character moves from one level of consciousness to another. I am never quite sure what I will find when researching the internet or YouTube for related information to support the writing that I do. I am glad to have had the following movie recommendation appear in my YouTube feed. I haven’t seen it as yet, but it will be one I am likely to rent when we have friends stay over an extended period. Might rent it over my birthday festival in late May 2025.

In Master Gardener, a former neo-Nazi whose life was built on hatred finds his messy past catching up with him when a young woman propels him to find a new path of transformation. Here is the preview.

The film Master Gardener offers a profound meditation on redemption, weaving together the outer practice of tending the earth with the inner cultivation of self-transformation. The protagonist, a meticulous horticulturist with a dark past, finds his own renewal in the rhythm of the garden—pruning, planting, and nurturing not just the soil but his own soul. As he mentors a young apprentice, the act of gardening becomes a metaphor for personal growth, demonstrating that, like a neglected plot of land, the human heart can be restored with patience, care, and the willingness to uproot what no longer serves. The film beautifully illustrates how the path to redemption is both tangible and intangible—woven through the hands that work the earth and the mind that learns to let go, making space for something new to bloom.

Out in the Garden – Strength in Community

It’s been great in the garden in that I have had a lot of assistance from Lennon. He is seventeen and providing the muscle for this seventy-five year older and bolder gardener. Together we have almost completed the surround for the lawned area where there is the plan to place the 7-metre bell tent in the spring and summer. This will be a place of retreat, and I hope to be able to play some music there.

The surround is of hornbeam hedging which will provide nesting for the birds once it gets established. It will make the garden look more like a garden rather than a tip for wood and the remnants to the greenhouse and orangery that got blown down last year in the high winds which now seem stronger than ever. The wood is being kept for further raised beds once the weather is better to the point where I am happy to use a circular saw and other power tools. The parts of the greenhouse and orangery are being kept with the plan to use some of it in the construction of a potting shed behind the existing tool shed which has stood up to every wind ever blowing through this land of Cordressagagh.

Seed Sowing Begins

This week I began sowing of the first seeds for the year. This was a variety of white onions called Bedfordshire Champion. It was a fun thing to do to take the tweezers and pick up one seed and pop it in the hole created by a small bolt and then thinly cover with vermiculite. There are now 72 of these in the rugged seed tray that gets sprayed lightly every day.

We grew onions from sets last year but they were small and quickly went to seed. This is because the cycle is a two-year process, and the sets are second year bulbs that are ready to put out seed. This is their key function and not to grow bigger. So, I am trying the seed sowing method with onions. I will keep you posted.

Recycling and Creative Gardening

I love to recycle where I can. So, this week on YouTube there was the invitation to recycle plastic milk containers. They are not the prettiest of things, but I will have a go at planting lettuce seeds in them and see how they grow.

With the milk containers cut almost in half the seeds have their own protected environment provided you ensure that the soil doesn’t dry out. At least this should ensure that you have seeds that mature into full grown lettuce and don’t just feed the slug population.

The New Inner Garden Wisdom Newsletter.

This newsletter is in a different format but takes the content of Mindful Gardening and turns it into a 5-day outline for cultivating the garden within. Here is a sample of the format.

The Inner Garden: Cultivating Beauty, Presence, and Renewal

A Journey into the Heart of the Garden Within

Bullet Points for Inner Gardening Growth

• Introduction.

• 5 Day Plan of Action.

• Weekly Plan of Action.

• Conclusion

Inside every one of us is a garden, and every practitioner has to go back to their garden and take care of it. – Thich Nhat Hanh

As the first shoots of spring push through the soil, so too does the longing within us—to grow, to create, to reconnect with what is sacred and true. To unfold that which is seeded within up. We have to do this with attention and tenderness.

Gardening is more than an act of cultivation; it is a conversation with the earth, a meditation in motion, and a living prayer. Just as we turn the soil, plant seeds, and nurture new life, we are called to tend to the garden within—the landscape of our soul – Source Of Unconditional Love – which we are a part of but never apart from.

This week’s five-day inner gardening journey invites you to step into a sacred rhythm, where nature becomes your teacher, silence becomes your nourishment, and each day brings you deeper into communion with the sacred within and around you.

Welcome to The Inner Garden—a space where the outer and inner landscapes merge, where every flower, hedge, and tree whispers its wisdom, and where you are invited to walk the beauty way of the heart.

Remember it’s not enough to read. You have to act. Tenderness toward yourself is a muscle that you need to exercise. While you might pay for a membership to a gym in order to stay physically healthy how much time do you spend in the gym of the soul?

Begin to tend your inner garden now. In a year you will probably not recognize just how much you have grown. This is your commitment to Companioning Your Greatness.

________________________________________

Day 1: Preparing the Soil – Clearing Space for the New

"The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Before planting, we must prepare the ground. In life, as in the garden, this means clearing away what no longer serves, loosening the soil, and making space for what is to come.

Reflection & Practice

• What in your life feels overgrown, tangled, or in need of clearing?

• Are there thoughts, patterns, or emotions that need composting to make way for new growth?

• How does nature teach us about letting go in order to begin again?

Inner Gardening Action:

• Walk through your garden (or an outdoor space) and observe where growth is struggling.

• Journal: What in my inner garden needs tending or releasing?

• If possible, physically clear a small space—weed a bed, prepare soil, or sweep a path—symbolizing your readiness for the new.

Hope that is of value to those who would love to make a commitment to their personal and transpersonal growth.

Cultivating a Garden of Growth and Reflection

As the seasons shift, so too does the garden—both the one we nurture with our hands and the one we cultivate within. Whether it's creating a tree shrine as a sacred space, investing in tools that support new life, or simply walking barefoot on the earth, each act of gardening mirrors an inner transformation. The wind may tear through the land, but it also stirs something within us, reminding us to adapt, embrace, and keep growing.

This week’s reflections—on song, on film, on the rhythms of planting and tending—remind us that redemption, renewal, and resilience are always possible. The act of placing a single seed into the soil carries the same message as the film Master Gardener—that with patience, care, and the willingness to let go of what no longer serves, we create space for something new to bloom.

As I continue this journey of Mindful Gardening, I invite you to reflect on your own connection to the land, the elements, and the sacred spaces—within and without. Have you ever created a tree shrine, planted a symbolic garden, or found wisdom in the winds? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

And if you enjoyed this edition, share your thoughts and consider sharing it with a fellow gardener, dreamer, or seeker.

Tony Cuckson Cordressagagh Ireland