2013: The Year in Review


 

 

 

 

 


Where I’ve Been and Where I’m Going

Looking back. 2013 was a year of ups and downs and all-arounds during which I eventually returned to the place where my journey had begun. My connection with the natural world has always been a profoundly spiritual one and that is where my strengths lie. While I do enjoy the horticultural eye candy that the growers spread out before us each spring, my mission and my message run much deeper.

The past year has provided opportunities for me to more fully integrate my interests in physics and metaphysics to produce a clear vision of how people who love to garden can begin to repair some of the damage that humankind has done to planet Earth. This approach doesn’t appeal to everyone, but I can tell you from experience that there are more of us out there than you can imagine.

Two years of transition. I spent 2012 recovering from breast cancer, testing my physical limits, and trying to keep pace with my previous hectic schedule. From that experience, I created a program that deals reducing the stress generated by cancer and cancer treatment through gardening.

Then came Hurricane Sandy, which devastated our garden and woodlot but, thankfully, not the house. We spent most of 2013 cleaning up and starting to repair the damage.

2013 also saw the germ of an idea grow into a pilot project on sustainable gardening resources. I traveled to Pennsylvania, Quebec City, and Los Angeles to present the concept to professional educators and was delighted to learn how widespread interest in this topic has grown.

Garden tours in Washington, DC and Montreal, CA called out to me, as did the Garden Writers Association Symposia in Tucson and Quebec.

At the same time, there was renewed interest in the Cultivating The Inner Gardener book concept from some unexpected corners. Six weeks evaporated as I made major revisions to my proposal.

What’s in store for 2014 - For me:
o    More repairs in the storm-damaged garden
o    Plant vs. deer experiments in the woodlot
o    Continued collaboration on sustainable gardening resources
o    Cultivating The Inner Gardener – still in search of  the just-right publisher
o    Introducing Garden Away Your Cancer Stress to the world via a new website, speaking engagements, and a book proposal
o    More garden and wildlife tours

For you:
My blog and newsletter will reflect these changes, in content, distribution, and frequency. Over time, the newsletter will transition to Mail Chimp, you can expect to see some surveys, and subscribers will receive occasional emails that offer new and inspirational ways for us to work together.

Make 2014 a great gardening year!

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