avatarTrista Signe Ainsworth

Summarize

How to Plan for the Beautiful Abundance of Nature

There will be more than enough to share

Photo by Chen Mizrach on Unsplash

A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in — what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars. ― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

Yesterday I spent a lot of time planning and dreaming. The abundance of fruit and flowers in our garden will be ours in the coming months and years.

Ever since our neighbors built a brand new fence to divide their backyard and our front yard, I have dreamt of the fruit trees I would plant there.

On my 100-day journey exploring overflow, today I am reveling in the hope of lots of fruit to share.

The planning started with conversations with my husband and son. What kinds of fruit would they like to enjoy? My son loves juicy, ripe pears, as does my husband. For me, the ultimate fruit would be the peach.

It took a little bit of time and research to find the right trees. I wanted dwarf trees and ones that are suited to our northern climate. That way, we can have more variety in a small space.

In the end, I settled upon two pear trees, one peach tree and one baking apple tree. In between, I will plant four low-growing wild blueberry plants. It will create a beautiful row of fruit in our sunny front yard.

Another abundant dream is to have an English cottage garden full of bright flowers that attract birds, bees, and butterflies. To this end, I decided to order a collection of seeds for flowers that these creatures love.

In this way, I am creating a garden of overflow and connections.

In our garden, we already have an overflow of beautiful plants growing like tea plants, huckleberries, garlic, green onions, and more. I hope that by adding the fruit trees, berry bushes, and wildflowers, our garden will be nature’s haven.

Here are three ways you can create more abundance in your garden, even if you do not have one.

Plant things that will yield food for you and others:

It is so much fun to plant things that will yield more than enough for you so that you can share with others. I remember last summer when I filled our front planter with zucchini that I had fun sharing.

Even if you live in an apartment, there are options. You can grow herbs on a windowsill. It is also possible to have small citrus trees indoors. If you have a balcony, you can cultivate vegetables in pots or have a potted columnar apple tree that does not take up much space.

If you have a small garden, utilize some flower beds for tucking in vegetables, dwarf fruit trees, or berry bushes. Many of them are very easy to grow.

Use your deck, balcony, and other spaces to the fullest:

So many times, decks and balconies are underused for gardening.

The best place to grow mint is in containers. You can cultivate lots of varieties and make fresh or dried tea with it. You can also have other herbs such as rosemary, thyme, basil, and chives.

There are miniature versions of almost every plant you can imagine. Perhaps you can even have a small banana tree on your deck or balcony in the summertime.

The possibilities are endless if you do enough research. You will be delighted by what you find.

Grow some plants from seed indoors and transplant them outdoors:

There are many vegetables and flowers you can grow from seed indoors. You can even take containers bound for the recycling, poke holes in them and use them for planting. All you need is some potting soil, seeds, and water.

I plan to start some of my flower seeds indoors so that they can get a head start before I plant them outside in May or June. I am very excited for the bees, butterflies, and birds to enjoy the blooms.

Here is the seed company that sells the seed collections. I love that they have such a great variety.

My prayer and my intention for you is for you to discover ways to grow something this year. Give a gift to the Earth and to the air you breathe. No matter how small of a space you have, you can cultivate something abundant.

Day #82: What plants or trees will you grow this year?

I am tagging some amazing fellow writers on this journey. They joined me on my 100-day spiritual journey, and it is an honor to have them here on this journey.

I ask that you read their beautiful work here on Medium. Thank you for your generosity! Bob Jasper, Charlotte Zobeir Ali, Rasheed Hooda, Jenine Bsharah Baines, Amy Marley, Gurpreet Dhariwal, Aurora Eliam, CMP, Chowa Sekai, Michele Thill, Terry Mansfield, Tony Young, Jr., Dr John Rose, Vishnu*s Virtues, Noma Dek, Neha Sandhir S, Joe Luca, Tree Langdon, Selma, Sherry S, Melissa Bee, Annick Batamuliza, Annelise Lords, Suntonu Bhadra, Henery X, Lanu Pitan, Nihan Kucukural, Desiree Driesenaar, and many more! Thank you Illumination, Genius in a Bottle, Paper Poetry, and Medium Family!

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More from Trista Ainsworth:

Abundance
Joy
Gardening
Life Lessons
Personal Growth
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