Mindful Gardening Newsletter No 40

Cultivating Resilience: Finding Strength and Joy in the Rhythm of Nature

In this week’s edition of the Mindful Gardening Newsletter, I share the following content.

• Weathering Storms and Resilience: Discover how recent high winds reshaped the garden and inspired creative solutions, including tree replacements and thoughtful hedging strategies.

• The Beauty of Red Robin and Laurel Hedging: Learn about the creation of vibrant, living walls that not only enhance garden rooms but also provide a sanctuary for birdlife.

• The Magic of Alders and Woodland Walks: Find out how twelve alder trees are transforming the landscape into a serene woodland retreat with plans for a wildlife pond and vibrant spring blooms.

• Sustainable Lawn and Hornbeam Hedge Tips: Follow the journey of planting a test lawn and designing an environmentally friendly hornbeam hedge that thrives in damp conditions while sheltering birds.

• Mindful Gardening Reflections: Explore the deep connection between tending your garden and nurturing inner peace, with practical tips on breathwork and embracing stillness.

Mindful Gardening Newsletter Edition No 40

Missed out on last week’s Mindful Gardening newsletter due to being without electricity for around four days. Many of our friends who live locally had outages for longer. It made me think about those times when people lived without the benefits of electricity and how we take it so much for granted. As I was writing this newsletter the electric went off yet again.

The high winds which seem to be coming ever stronger blew down more trees. Its beginning to look like a tree graveyard and getting someone to come and chainsaw them so they might be moved is a challenge. Thanks to one of my hero’s Jenny, we have been promised a chainsaw man to come early new year. Its that time of year when I start to think about trees and hedging.

The Red Robin and Laurel Hedging

Red Robin and Cherry Laurel planted until sited in final position

In the high winds of last week some of the living wall in the St. Bridget’s Garden that was created by way of sweet pea got blown over and the supports taken out. This has led me to review the situation as regards surrounding the various garden rooms with this arrangement. I have decided to create the walls by way of hedging which will be a combination of Red Robin Photinia × fraseri 'Red Robin' and Cherry laurel Prunus laurocerasus.

This will give a beautiful arrangement of colour and also provide a habitat for various bird life. I purchased about 100 red robin Photinia × fraseri 'Red Robin' and 200 laurel Prunus laurocerasus from Etna Plants which happen to be the best hedging I have ever acquired plus they added some free Rosa Canina (wild rose) and wild cherry to boot.

Tree Replacements

Large tree that fell on part of the polytunnel from neighbours land.

Given all the trees that have fallen over the last year I have purchased an additional twelve alder bare root trees (Ednaplants.ie) which I am going to plant beyond Stewart’s Grove and which will, over time, form a lovely woodland and create a walk to the planned wildlife pond.

Trees are poems that the earth writes upon the sky. We cut them down and turn them into paper that we may record our emptiness. Khalil Gibran

I love alder. There are a number on the property and all of them have stood up to everything the fieriest storms have thrown at them. I love the colour of the bark, and they love the conditions of the ground here which is damp to wet. Over time they will be underplanted with foxglove, aquilegia, brunnera and in the springtime the ground will be covered in bluebells.

The Lawn and the Hornbeam Hedge

Test planting of lawn

I love walking into Stewart’s Grove and looking across to the West to see the test seeded lawn begin to sprout. I’ve never planted a lawn before but am excited to see it unfold. I have the plan to surround this lawned area with a hornbeam hedge and have bought two hundred hedging plants to do so. The advantage is the hornbeam likes the damper conditions but like most plants doesn’t like to stand in water.

So, the plan is to dig a trench all around the edge of the lawn and fill it with piping and gravel. Then I will create a raised bank with a mixture of sand, topsoil, perlite and compost and plant into that which tends to be easy once the bank is created (the hard part). Another advantage of the hornbeam hedge is that it is environmentally friendly. It provides deep shelter for the birds who I am always thinking about during these cold periods.

Two hundred hornbeam and twelve alder bare roots

Feeding the Birds During Winter

My dear friend Michael McCann provides me with the cameras I use to photograph the images shared here on this Mindful Gardening newsletter. The above image is my trying to capture all the little birds who fly into the beehive feeder. I just so love watching them but if I get too close, they all fly away. In 2025 will use a camera stand and do some video.

On an aside we hope to attend at a Kirtan event on Wednesday 18th Dec 2025 at 7:00 p.m. with our new friend Clare Meleady Smith at Dowra Court House where I have been invited to sing a song. Here is a great song that mentions my bird friends by performers who are a favorite of mine.

This was the kind of songs that were sung every night (probably by Miten and his group) when I was at the Osho ashram in Pune India in 1980.

Planting Red Robin and Cherry Laurel.

Creating raised bed for planting Red Robin and Cherry Laurel hedge

I am creating a garden room West of St. Bridget’s Garden. This will have the mixture of Red Robin and laurel as a surround. The above image shows the work of digging drainage, laying cardboard, adding a bank of a mixture of topsoil and sand and then planting into the raised bed. This means the hedging doesn’t stand in the wet and then have the roots rot. Once the double line of hedging (which will make it a wall of foliage) I will cover the bare soil with the fallen leaves supplied by our angel neighbour David Mawn. Not sure as yet what this room will be called but there’s no rush.

A Red Robin hedging to surround the West side of the Rumi Garden

Mindful Gardening Reflection

Photo by Dorota Dylka on Unsplash

Remember that what is important is the way in which you tend your inner garden that then manifests as a reflection of such attention. One of the experiences that is deepening within me is the relationship I have with my breath. This is where I really get to unfold the expression “I feel fine.” The “fine” relates to your relationship to the fineness of your breathing. The result is that I increasingly feel happy for no reason. This is as a result of feeling in tune with the Infinite (Ralph Waldo Thrine – New Thought writer).

Here is a lovely invitation from the modern mystic and writer Mirabai Star which invites a key practice if you are to follow any spiritual path. This is the practice of following the breath to the still place within you out of which flows fulfilment from the paradoxical experience of emptiness.

This magnificent refuge is inside you. Enter. Shatter the darkness that shrouds the doorway. Step around the poisonous vipers that slither at your feet, attempting to throw you off your course. Be bold. Be humble. Put away the incense and forget the incantations they taught you. Ask no permission from the authorities. Slip away. Close your eyes and follow your breath to the still place that leads to the invisible path that leads you home.

― Mirabai Starr, The Interior Castle

I happen to love incense and incantations which are my heartsongs or kirtan songs, but I ask no permission from any authority outside myself.

Conclusion

https://unsplash.com/@jrkorpa

As we navigate the challenges and beauty of the natural world, this week’s reflections remind us of the resilience found in both nature and us. From the enduring strength of alders to the deliberate creation of garden spaces that nurture life and bring joy, each step is an opportunity to connect with the world around us.

The high winds and power outages serve as a gentle nudge to appreciate what we often take for granted and to embrace creative solutions for our gardens and lives. Whether planting hedges, caring for wildlife, or finding stillness through the rhythm of breath, every act is an invitation to mindfulness and growth.

Thank you for joining me on this mindful gardening journey. May we continue to cultivate not just our gardens but also the inner landscapes that allow us to thrive. Until next time, may your week be filled with quiet breaths and flourishing greens.

Tony Cuckson – Cordressagagh.