During this pause to guests and events, here’s some beautiful observations from the beloved Craig Stone on being in the gardens.

“Gardening, for me, allows space—and that that space has allowed me to find some presence, and to practice mindfulness on a daily basis. I’ve always meditated. But when I used to meditate, it didn’t matter how long the sit was; but as soon as that chime went, my mind clicked back on again. I could find peace and some presence on the mat, but as soon as that time went it would be, “Okay, let’s go.” Mental noise and mental traffic.

Here, in the gardening space, I’ve managed to bridge that gap, and capture that mindfulness and that presence in the work that I do. There have been days when I’ve walked through this garden and wept, because I’ve had such a sense of presence.

Anytime something that I have planted sprouts, I notice the first time something blossoms, the first time something produces fruit. I get so incredibly excited, and so incredibly proud. And also, humbled. When I hold a seed and I’m preparing the ground, the little hole, I’m blown away by the fact that all I’m really doing is preparing space. I’m not “growing” anything. I’m just moving the seed from where it was to where it needs to be. But the immense complexity of the DNA in that little seed allows it, with a little bit of light, a little bit of water, and a little bit of human intervention, to grow into something. Again, it’s something that shows me the connectedness in everything. One cannot garden and not be amazed.

It is an individual pursuit that costs nothing and that can be done alone. It is, for me, an appreciation of silence, an opportunity for personal growth, and being able to quiet my personal mental chatter. “