WHY IS GARDENING MAGICAL?

Why do I say that gardening is magical? Because all you have to do is have the intent to garden and Nature literally rushes in. Plants love us and want us to care for them, and, in return they give us their bounty of nutrition as in the gorgeous bowl of mixed veggies I collected this morning. So, once again, I urge you to begin a garden, if you haven’t already. There is nothing like the magic of planting seeds and watching them sprout, grow, flower, fruit, and eat! And, it’s so easy to do.

Even if it is snowing where you are right now, you can still start to think about the garden you want to plant in the spring. Go on the web, or send for some organic seed catalogues. They are filled with gorgeous tantalizing pictures of all the things you would love to grow and eat. This is one of the most fun things about gardening; visualizing the vast fertile abundant harvest you will have. And even before that, the visual beauty of all those different colored leaves and flowers will lift your spirit and open your heart.

When your seeds arrive, you can plant them in 4” pots and put them in a sunny window. They will willingly sprout, and you will have a head start when it is time to plant them outdoors. There is nothing like the smell and taste of fresh herbs which are all fairly easy to grow indoors.

Now you may say, “I don’t have time.” But how long does it take to plant a few seeds and spray the surface to keep it moist until they sprout. Or, “I don’t have the space.” But now, you can garden in containers and it is fun and easy. They even have self watering pots now, which I have tried, and they work really well especially with greens like lettuce, spinach, collards and kale. They can all easily be started indoors and thrive in containers on your deck/porch or lanai depending on where you live.

But, you say, “What if nothing grows or I forget to water it?” These are just a few of the fears people have about gardening. Well, no worries. Nature has your back. You can’t do it wrong. Gardening is all about experimenting. Think about everything you plant as an experiment. I guarantee you will learn something about it or yourself in the process.

For example, this year I planted a lot of purple cabbage, because I love the color, and I was looking forward to mounds of pink cole-slaw. Well, it just didn’t grow as I had envisioned. And, it didn’t take long to realize that the summer weather was just too hot for it. It was beautiful to look at but it wouldn’t ‘head up’, as they say. Also, it was long past its due date of three months. I was feeling like a failure, when the insight came to me. It would be perfect for making sauerkraut! Wow! What a concept! My husband just happens to know how to make it, too. I suddenly remembered, it was his love of fermented food that had prompted me to plant so much cabbage, in the first place. Duh!

So, I harvested all the leafy stuff and presented it to him. He got busy right away and chopped it up. Then he made “a slurry”, as he calls it, which means anything he puts in the vita mix and churns up. This time he put about 2cups of beets I had pickled, about 3 tablespoons salt, and, of course, here on Kauai, we added about 1 finger of olena/turmeric, 2 fingers of ginger, and a few hot Hawaiian chili peppers. He then mixed the slurry with the cabbage and placed it in 1gal. white plastic bucket. On top of the mixture goes a plate weighted down by a glass jar filled with water. This keeps the mixture submerged; the liquid should cover the plate. As long as the cabbage mix is covered with the salty slurry, no deterioration can happen and the fermentation flourishes. It is now fermenting nicely in a cool corner of the house. Between the red beets and the purple cabbage we will have the most intoxicating fuchsia sauerkraut happening in about 7-10 days. Yum! And it’s so good for you. If you also happen to be a fermentation freak, or want more information on the process, see Wild Fermentation, by Sandor Ellix Katz.

So, you see, no matter what happens in the garden, you are always a winner. If you think of gardening like I do--as one big experiment after another--the magic will amaze you, and, you will want to keep on conducting experiments. It’s just that simple. This time I will plant my cabbage in the fall when it is rainy and cold. Well, cold is relative here on Kauai.

Keep experimenting, and the magic will follow.
Get growing and have some fun.

the magic gardener,
marissa henderson
theplantspirits@gmail.com
www.theplantspirits.blogspot.com

SUMMER SOLSTICE

When I asked the Plant Spirits about the Solstice, they said,

“It is either the height of our greatest growth or our greatest decline, depending on what hemisphere you live in. Either way it is a joyous time for us. We would like to share that joy with you. All you have to do in tune into the energy around June 21st and you will see what we mean. Many of you do rituals around the beauty and bounty of Nature and that is a good way to align with the frequencies of heath, wealth and abundance of all kinds.

Let Nature nurture you. Go out and sit under a tree or in your favorite spot and call forth the Plant Spirits to assist you in your own heath and well being. The more you can align your rhythms with that of Nature the more harmony you will find in your day to day existence.

Do you ever wonder why you feel such peace when surrounded by the beauty of Nature? It is because it is one of our tasks in being here; that is to create beauty, harmony and peace to all those who admire our physicality. And, in return some of you are impulsed to grow us, plant us and nurture us. Then we flower and fruit and give back to you. We like to think it is an equal energy exchange.

And, if you want to take it a step further and expand your awareness you will see that there is an even greater symbiosis between us. We take in the Sun’s energy and give off oxygen which you need to breathe and in turn you breathe out carbon dioxide which we ingest. So you see there really is a wonderful relationship between the two species. Together we create a balanced atmosphere for each other and many other life forms as well. Let us indeed celebrate the Sun’s path across the heaven which gives life to us all.

Around this same time the Sun moves into sidereal Gemini, the constellation that is nearest to the galactic equator. In fact, the feet of the Twins rest securely on the Milky Way. The Milky Way is a massive cluster of stars in which our solar system resides. This position is sometimes referred to as the Gate of Man. During this time it is believed that communication between the greater galaxies and our solar system/earth is enhanced. This is why one of the qualities of Gemini, and this time of year, is thought to be about ease of communication both mundane and ethereal.

This is a good time to make all those calls you’ve been putting off for one reason or another. Knowing the celestial Beings are with you can really make a difference.

So, do not be reticent about asking the unseen helpers to assist you in bringing harmony and balance into your life. This includes all things physical, mental and spiritual. Be specific, but be open; thus allowing the Universe to bring you the essences of your desires in ways far greater than you ever could have imagined.”

Blessings,
Marissa
for more information or to obtain a channelling from the Plant Spirits,
contact: theplantspirits@gmail.com

HOW TO CREATE A MAGIC GARDEN

What is a Magic Garden? What does it look like? How do you envision it? Is it all veggies or are there lots of flowers and herbs, too? What are your favorites? Can you see them all in radiant full bloom? Are they ripe and lush overflowing with goodness? What about all the butterflies and the bees buzzing around the flowers, doing their job of pollinating? Can you see and hear them? Is your heart beating a little faster now in anticipation of all that goodness? Is your mouth watering? It’s not only a treat for the taste buds but the visual appreciation for all that beauty, the smells, and the feel of it all that is overwhelmingly satisfying. And you created it!

Feel the love that the plants are giving back to you for all the love you gave to them during the growing season. See all the ripe tomatoes and cucumbers, and loads of lettuce and greens galore. Don’t forget the onions, scallions, chives, and garlic, yum. Then there are the beets and carrots, ready for pickling. Don’t you just love all the cosmos and marigolds, flowering among the herbs like basil, dill, oregano, and mint? And the cilantro; ah there is noting like the smell of fresh cilantro from the garden. No Mexican meal is complete without it. Well neither is an Indian or Thai for that matter.

There now, you’re in the right frame of mind. You’re already cooking and eating fresh from your very own garden. You have achieved a vibrational set point that matches the vibration of what you want to create. In other words you’re visualization has brought you into vibrational alignment or harmony with your garden to be.

But how am I going to do this? I hear you thinking. Remember, this is a co-creative effort. It is to your benefit to have all this wonderful organic food to go pick out of your garden, but think about the plants. It is also to their benefit to get you to cultivate them so that they can fulfill their life cycles, reproduce create seeds and keep creating better, even more luscious varieties for you.

All you have to do is go out to your garden space and sit quietly. Then you ask the Plant Spirits, sometimes referred to as Devas, if they will lend their assistance to your gardening. You have to ask because they can not help you if you don’t. It is a cosmic law. So don’t be afraid, just try it and see what happens. Think of it as an experiment. Often what happens is after you have asked you may not receive any kind of answer in a linear language like the one you speak. But pay attention to any pictures you see in your ‘minds eye’ or any flashes of insights you might receive, for this is how they communicate. You might just ‘get’ to do something and wonder now where did that idea come from. Well guess who is working with you?

In this process you are reviving your inner senses of imagination, intuition, gut feelings, hunches, and flashes of insights. All those things you were told not to pay attention to as a child as in ‘Oh that is just your imagination.’ Well, that’s right, it is your imagination, and it’s an inner sense trying to tell you something. Why not listen to it and see what happens. You just might be surprised.

For example, while I was writing this I ‘got’ that I would be better off putting my attention on creating another circular bed for flowers and herbs around my existing circular veggie garden rather than trying to create another garden along the straight fence that separates the property from the neighbors. As tempting as fences are…so many lovely things like to climb….the immediate vision I ‘got’ of flowers all in bloom around the veggie garden was tremendously expansive. I ‘got’ to start placing all my potted herbs and flowers plants about 3 feet around the outside of my existing circle garden as a beginning.

This made so much sense since I love the energy of a circular garden and the fence is visually toward the back of the house and I was having a hard time making it work. So I went right out and placed all my potted plants about 3 feet from the outer perimeter of the veggie garden. It was such a good feeling to envision how it would look all planted and with everything in bloom. I was ecstatic and I knew I was in total vibrational alignment with what was to come.

Then…..my left brain took over and said, “Well, you know you are going to have to borrow a roto-tiller and get help to dig those beds, don’t you?” I let out a big sigh and felt like a deflated balloon. Who knew how long that would take? I stared to lament my beautiful garden when I ‘got’ another picture. I clearly saw newspapers spread out on the ground, shaping the new circular beds. The papers were topped with chicken fence and the potted plants were sitting on top of the fence to hold it down.

Wow! Now that was something I could do myself and would not be too labor intensive. The grass under the newspapers would breakdown creating nice soil. The chicken fence would keep the wild chickens from scratching and making a total mess out of it. The potted plants would anchor it down and hold it in place until it was time to plant them. Meanwhile, I could start all my sunflowers and zinnias and other flowers and herbs in pots and by the time they are ready to plant they will have a nice root system going which will make transplanting them a breeze.

Voila! Magic Gardening at its best!

Visualizing what you want and asking the Plant Spirits for help. The Plant Spirits love you and couldn’t be happier that you want to create a garden. Why wouldn’t they want to help you? Just remember, whenever you come across a challenging or resistant thought like “How am I going to do that?’, it’s your left brain talking. Ignore it. Have faith and trust. Keep visualizing what you want and keep asking for help. Pretty soon you will be on to some great inspiration and you will feel elated! Rest assured they are there in spirit just waiting to be asked how, what, where, when or any other thing you might want to know. They really are a wealth of information once you learn to trust your inner senses as to how they are communicating with you.

So go for it! Dream big; Visualize; Ask; Allow; and watch how fast and fun it happens!

If you want to know more and/or be attuned to the Plant Spirits, I offer free 20 minute phone sessions. Just email me to set up a time.

Much love and happy gardening,
From the magic gardener,
marissa henderson
theplantspirits@gmail.com

ABSTRACT AMARYLLIS

JOYS OF SPRING !

Who are the first harbingers of spring? Why bulbs, of course.

If you were lucky enough to plant them in the fall, you would be rewarded with their presence now, appearing thru chilly winds, icy rains, and slushy snow in the spring.

They are like a beautiful intention that you keep buried in your heart. You plant them in the fall when all else appears to be dying. And, even though it looks like no more than a meager onion, in your mind you are holding the vision of a beautiful flower appearing in your future.

Once, I took care of a big estate garden and each fall it seemed I needed to order more and more bulbs. At first I tried to create color combinations that I thought would be pleasing but I soon lost track of which of those 500 dirty little brown things was which color.

So, I ‘got’…… (you’ll see me write that word a lot. It is basically a synonym for “I surrender. Please show me what to do.”).

So, I ‘got’……to simply mix them all together in a box and pull them out randomly, as if I was pulling a card from an oracle deck. I was “assured” that they would all find their perfect places. Being a big fan of oracle cards of all sorts and knowing the magic they can bring to your life, I proceeded with a whole new joyous outlook with visions of a multitude of magnificent colors and textures.

Needless to say, in the spring came a superb display of Nature far beyond anything I could have contemplated or created on my own.

Now I live in Hawaii, and believe it or not, we do have many garden challenges, or, shall I say, "deep moments of surrender to Nature".

This year I received an Amaryllis bulb for the holidays and it brought back all those fond memories of planting hundreds of bulbs. Only now I have one beauty which I put in a lovely pot on my lanai table. I watched it everyday and had the sensation that I could actually see it growing. I photographed it daily, too. There was great cause for celebration when it opened and I vowed to buy many more this fall.

So, you are probably thinking why not tell us this in the fall so we can plant bulbs, and the answer is yes, I will remind you again.

You see, life and nature are full of cycles, and, just like the sign of yin and yang, each season contains the other. So even though it’s spring the fall energy is there.

What do you do in spring to ensure a fabulous fall…plant a garden!! The rewards are great not only in the quality of food you will eat, but also in the peace and harmony gardens bring into our life.

Want help?
Email me at theplantspirits@gmail.com for free 20 minute consultation.
No garden is too big or too small. It is better than to have none at all.
happy gardening
marissa

Olena/Tumeric

HEALTH TIP FROM THE MAGIC GARDENER

Many of you may have wondered what that outrageous flower is that graces the front of this blog. Well, it is called Olena in Hawaiian, but you probably know it by its popular name, Tumeric. It is highly revered in both Hawaiian and Ayurvedic healing. The Hawaiians call Olena one of the 5 warriors, which are the herbs that go in and fight off infection or any dis-ease in the body (more on this later). Ayurvedic, which is the India methodology of healing, sees this herb as one with far reaching capabilities. So much so that it is recommended to be eaten at each meal. It is the herb that gives curry its wonderful golden color.

It grows similar to ginger, but, the plant is bigger and the root is smaller. The root resembles the knuckles with fingers spreading out. It is measured in this way, one finger, two fingers, etc. Unlike finicky ginger, Olena grows quite prolific in a warm spot with ample water. Not too much water, we don’t want it to rot. It has big spreading leaves and that gorgeous flower at its peak. You may break off any one of the fingers and plant it in the ground, or, even in a fairly large pot, and it will sprout in no time.

Because it is quite bitter you only need to use a little bit at a time. So, that brings up the question of what is the best way to store this humble looking root. Left at room temperature, it tends to shrivel up and dry out and lose it vitality. Left in the refrigerator for too long and it will mold and dry-up. The best way I have found is to put it in a plastic bag and freeze it. Then, when you are ready to use some in your curry or soup just take it out and micro-grate it into the mix. Don’t thaw it out. You need the hardness of the frozen root to be able to grate it. You can pop the rest back in the freezer for further use.

One of my favorite qualities of this divine plant is its extraordinary coloring effect.
Not only your curries become that bright yellow, but soup and stews take on a glorious golden glow. I also love to grate it into rice which transforms it into a special treat as it colors it a yummy butter yellow. You might call it the poor man’s saffron. Of course, it loves to color your fingers, counters, and cutting boards too, so just be aware of that when working with it.

You can also buy it powdered at any health food or Indian grocery, and to my knowledge it has the same effect. But, in my opinion, there is quite a bit of difference in its aliveness.

So, go ahead give it a try. The next time you see this root, Olena/Tumeric, and you give it a little scrape with your finger and this bright orange gold color is revealed, pick one up and start to experiment. Remember to put one finger in your garden, one in a flower pot, and put the rest in the freezer to reserve for the cooking pot.

You won’t be sorry, and the heath benefits are enormous, including, as the Indians say, immortality!

See you there!
marissa, the magic gardener
theplantspirits@gmail.com

Seeds ! Seeds ! Seeds !

Let’s talk more about seeds.

Besides loving them into fruition, we need to talk about diversity. A friend was having some luck with a very prolific ‘cherry tomato’ he was growing in a container on his lanai. He brought us a few to try out. They were shaped more oblong then round and about the size of a large grape [pretty much like a standard cherry tomato]. They were very evenly colored, that fabulous color that can only be described as well, tomato red. The skins were not too thick or too thin and they tasted sweet and didn’t have you looking for the salt. All in all, we decided to save the seeds and see if we could have some success growing them, or something new.

You have to understand that growing tomatoes in Kauai can be challenging, because, we have what I call Mr. Sting Fly. He likes to come round and lay eggs in your fruit, of all kinds, which basically ruins it. This is a legacy left to us from commercial fruit growers of the past. Mono cropping and mega chemical fertilizers combined with black plastic, …. well, don’t get me started.

Anyway, this lovely little guy had seemed to elude Mr. Sting Fly, another reason we wanted to try it.

We saved the seeds from two small ‘de kine’ (that’s Hawaiian for ‘the best’) and let them dry out (not in full sun, that doesn’t work) and later, I planted them with lots of hope, in just two 4” pots on the lanai and gave them lots of love.

Yep, you guessed it; they all came roaring up like a small group of survivors ready to go.

When they were about 4” tall I carefully separated them and planted them along the fence in the Magic Garden. I pinched out those pesky side shoots until they reached the top of the 4’ fence, then I gave up because these guys definitely had a mind of their own. But, by then I didn’t care because they were ‘going off’ as we say here. All of them were flowering (see last blog picture), and fruiting in the most amazing ways. Yes, way, ways.

On each plant the fruit was shaped differently than the little tomatoes from which we grew them. Some were fat and round, with those little tomato grooves about the size of a plum. Some were elongated by 3’’with little tips or tails at the end. Some were just perfectly smooth oblong beauties. And, they all were born on ‘vines’ (in tomato-talk that means a tomato is coming off a single stem that runs down the center for each flower). And, these vines were holding 12 to 14 of these beautiful wonders for each vine and they were already starting to turn red. I can’t wait to see what comes from their seeds.

Maybe you are beginning to get a broader meaning for the word ‘heirloom variety’.

Now, I know you guys on the mainland don’t want to hear about the fact that I am having red tomatoes in December, but that’s not the point. It is, however, the time of year when you will all be receiving your seed catalogues. I want to encourage you to go for the open pollinated ‘heirloom’ varieties.

Hybrid seeds, which you will have to buy each year, have had the variety/surprise bred out of them. There is nothing wrong with consistency…. but if you collect their seed they will not give you the same results.

Why? because Hybrid seed companies want you to continue to buy from them.

What I want you to get here is the concept of the diversity of Nature and the fun you can have by being a part of it, by saving your own, or your neighbors, your mothers, your grandparents, open pollinated [non-hybrid] seeds.

This, along with other things like; the weather, the bees, the soil, the love/attention you give them, will all go into creating your very own heirloom variety, which you can then duplicate next year, and, hand down for generations.

Gee, I just love the way genetic diversity work! There are so many factors involved, and, just as with humans, that great diversity makes our world what it is.

The seeds you loved into being this year will bring immense pleasure to you, year after year, as well as, what can I say…just plain Magic into your life and your gardening experience.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments, or would like more information on how to be more in touch with your plant spirit guide(s).

Blessings with much love and aloha,

marissa
theplantspirits@gmail.com