The many gardens at Grace Lutheran in West Hamilton grow fruits, vegetables and medicines; The.Healing/Meditation Garden offers food for spirit.

At the beginning …

As Dan Bisonnette and I stood in the 50 x 45 foot space that I wanted to turn into a Healing/Meditation Garden, I saw him shake his head a couple of times. Then, as the workshop participants joined us he pointed out what was fundamentally necessary for a healing garden and what our challenges would be. Drawing on his knowledge of Japanese and European monastic gardens as well as First Nations healing traditions and modern therapeutic techniques, Dan began to explain to us what should be included and what should be avoided in our new garden. As he spoke we wondered how this space could heal people. To our surprise it has turned into a beautiful healing space over the past three growing seasons.

Read more about the 10 steps we took:

  1. Design the Sound-Scape
  2. Create a Pathway to the Centre
  3. Include the Element of Water
  4. Shade, Natural and Created
  5. Invitation to Rest
  6. View from Within
  7. Meditation Focus Points
  8. Setting the Tone with Feng Shui
  9. Fragrant and Medicinal Plants
  10. Softening the Flaws

Considering your own …

Ours may sound like a huge garden at an enormous cost but it isn’t. A healing/meditation garden can be created in any space, regardless of the size, if some of the above principles are included. Many of our plants are perennials that have been divided several times. Family, friends and members donated plants and gave us the statuary which also includes a statue of St. Francis of Assisi. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was this garden. It was a dream that required planning, research and hope and then when the time was ripe it seemed to almost grew out of the ground by itself!

I hope you have enjoyed this tour of the Healing/Meditation Garden at Grace Lutheran Church in Hamilton. Please stop by for a visit!

Blog Contributed by Loretta Jaunzarins