As we plunge headlong into the festive season once again, the idea of gift giving is high on many people’s minds. While the traditional idea of giving something physical is well entrenched in our consumerist culture, let's take a minute to consider gifts of another nature.

A garden, or any natural setting, can be a source of many gifts. As someone who guides others into these settings and facilitates therapeutic outcomes for people, I believe that at the heart of these situations are connections. Connections can take a myriad of forms: connections between people through sharing plants, knowledge and produce; connections between, and within, ecosystems - the relationships at play between insects, animals, plants, soil and place. There are also spiritual connections between land, self and life’s cycles, and social connections between like-minded people who become of groups such as Landcare, local garden groups, botanic gardens or garden therapy groups.

At the heart of it all for me is the connection I have with the plants. It is through this connection, in particular, that therapy, creativity, personal development, empathy and many other skills are exercised, often without conscious awareness. I am always amazed by the outcomes perceived by clients and how they can differ from the outcomes I had planned for them. The plants do the work - where, when and how it is needed, every time. 

I like to think of the interconnectedness of all things through the short saying, “all living things are connected and all things live” and remind people that they too are part of this profound connection. It is connections that conduct therapy and healing as they highlight the intricate webs that surround and encompass us all the time. Just like the gold at the end of the rainbow, you won't find it by looking, you happen upon it at the most random of moments.

There is another connection I find endlessly fascinating, that between connection itself and chaos. As we foster connection we must increasingly embrace chaos. The more patterns of connection we observe and become a part of, the more we notice the chaos that is part of the system. I think it is the certainty of that chaos (or entropy) that holds the system together, while at the same time threatening to pull it apart. It reminds us that nothing is forever, but anything is possible, and that there is beauty and wonder in the unexpected. Chaos is not necessarily a bad thing, it is an expression of the unexpected, the unplanned and the often wonderful. It is even sometimes possible to see that the chaos is actually order in disguise, if we become aware of unconsidered connections taking place within a system.

Another connection, often misinterpreted, is the connection to plants that some people innately feel and others chase. We know it as ‘plant spirit communication’. For others this idea may seem esoteric and can cause their eyes to glaze over as they conjure up images of people wearing animal skins, chanting in a circle around a fire and waving crystals about with abandon. While there is nothing wrong with this image, and indeed a lot that is enticing, for me it is simpler to keep my feet in the soil, so to speak, and promote the caring aspect of this connection. I connect with, and care for, plants by looking, feeling and listening. I know when certain plants need water, I can see when they are having difficulty with disease or pests, and I can feel irregularities in their structure. This knowing is also deeply rooted in patterns. The language of patterns is one we as humans are masters of, and we simply need to connect with our unconscious to be able to see these patterns. This is another instance where some people’s eyes glaze over and you may lose them. However, the same is true here, a practical approach is possible and sometimes preferable.

The question is, how do we achieve connection with plants and the ability to perceive patterns without all the fluffery? This question has bothered me for years; it was only upon recent reflection I realised I already had the answer. Get out into the garden. Pull the weeds, have a good look at them as you do, take your shoes off, get dirty! Check out the compost and soil, smell the flowers, study their colours. Take notes, journal and go to the same spots over the year and look at how the light changes, feel hot and cold areas, which plants like to be in shady/sunny/wet/dry areas, where does water sit or run away during rain or storms, where do pollinators gather, what birds love to visit?

Your mindful approach to these mundane tasks will achieve a few goals. They will tune you into your garden/bush/outdoors as well as yourself; you will get to know your patch very intimately, and finally you will become a great gardener. These connections and patterns - seen and unseen - help all of us to embrace the wildness and the weeds within our own natures as well as within our gardens. It is in the knowing of the self that steps can be taken to enrich, bring peace and cultivate wonder. The garden/bush/outdoors is always there to facilitate healing and knowing, this is one of Gaia’s greatest gifts. So, this Christmas amid all the rushing, spend some time and guide others to experience their own connections in the garden. Wrap it up with love and a bow and give freely of your garden this Christmas.