My garden teaches and illustrates many of life’s lessons for me. Today I want to focus on the importance of rich soil. Obviously this blog is not about gardening but the garden sure highlights some great principles.

These two images are of the same plant, same seed but what a dramatic difference!

There may be some other minor factors contributing but the two main differences between these two are 1) the soil and 2) regular watering.

Let’s talk about soil. There are key components and ratios for great soil. Fertilizers provide various amounts of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Important, but rarely discussed is the “loft or fluffiness” in the soil (I’m not making this up, honest!) This factor means that the soil will get both air and moisture effectively and not compact.

The soil producing the lush version of the Grape Hyacinth Vine comes from a great local company that really has specialized in soil. Here’s something they say on their site which I think we can extrapolate from:

GeoGrowers: “To make sure that our soils are balanced, we have them analyzed regularly at Texas Plant and Soil Lab”.

http://www.geogrowers.net/CustomSoilBlends.html

So, what are the lessons for us?

Know what your key nutrients are for your optimum wellness and happiness.

How much time do you need with friends? alone? in nature? etc.

Maximize your fluffines s ! (I couldn’t resist). Space - this parallels my gas tank analogy, not living on empty. It’s okay, It’s even wise, to give yourself more than the bare minimum for your wellness. This ties back in to self-compassion and self-kindness. This allows for extra resiliency and keeps us from hitting the maxed-out line so quickly.

What stresses can you eliminate or reduce in your life? Where have you said “yes” but may need to say “no” or “later” to?

Create a baseline with wellness professionals.

Soil gets tested, well water should be tested once per year, your car gets checked over regularly. Who would be the appropriate wellness and balance professionals to work with who can proactively help you do check-ins?

When we feed our body, mind and soul the right nutrients, water what’s growing regularly and take time to weed out the bitterness and disappointments before they take over we are well on our way to happy and meaningful living.

Here are some more garden pictures, just for fun!

Until next time,

Marilyn