Gardening provides several health benefits. Among them, our guest speaker explains how designing and nurturing your garden can contribute to your self-care. 

Ms. Marewski first became interested in sacred gardens through active meditation, which is a style of meditation that advocates movement followed by silence.  

She explains that what we are doing physically transcends to what we are doing mentally, and that active meditation translates to the garden in a way of being totally present. “That dialogue is about the dialogue with the plants and what’s at hand. What does my garden need? What are the plants saying?” 

Ms. Marewski explains her process for gardening and the meditation process that goes with each step of the nurturing process. Emphasizing that it’s not just feeding our bodies with good organic food but also about nurturing our soul.  

There are many types of gardens that bring joy. Gardens can be created using raised beds or tucked into landscaping and various types of plants can be grown. What is most important is to focus on what resonates most for you—whether that be an edible garden, a medicinal garden, or a pollinator garden with lots of colorful annual and perennial flowers.  

As flowers are the highest expression of a plant's energy, Ms. Marewski encourages letting plants go to flower and consuming edible flowers in your diet.  

She also explains some of the unique uses for edible flowers: 

• Begonia encourages letting go 
• Borage brings courage and optimism  
• Nasturtium brings balance from excess mental activity which is good for insomnia 
• Sunnhemp is the energy of the sun so it brightens our day  

For those who have issues with insomnia and sleep, she recommends Passionflower and St. Johns Wart which are both calming.  

When starting your garden, she also notes the importance of using Organic soil, and explains the differences between Organic, Hybrid and GMO seeds.  

Follow Gabriele’s adventures at StorySkyrts.com and learn more about Paradise Farms Organic, a showcase 5-acre certified organic farm specializing in micro-greens, baby greens, over 52 varieties of edible flowers, mushrooms, tropical fruits and vegetables located in Miami. 

Support the show

Due to the ongoing federal funding freeze, we must redirect our efforts to other FOG programs. But we need your help to keep programs like Fresh Take and other FOG initiatives alive!

Become a sponsor today! Your sponsorship is crucial for us to continue providing essential programs, including this podcast. Visit our sponsor page now to learn more and join our community of supporters. Together, we can make a significant impact!