While I often turn to art and the creative process for spirit medicine, I haven’t been painting as much the past few weeks. We’ve been tending to spring gardens and planting a rainbow of fruit and vegetables instead… and “Sowing the Seeds of Love,” which is the name of the painting below. It reminds me of the spring resurrection happening all around me… bird eggs hatching, vegetable seeds sprouting, trees blooming into tiny fruit, grape vines coming back to life. Remember that the Earth can be a canvas, collaborative partner, and nourishing mother… and provide relief.
My husband and I started our first permaculture garden with bananas, key limes, mangos, and more when we bought our first home in South Florida 20 years ago. We started all over again when we bought our current home in the Appalachian mountains 10 years ago. We’ve had some success… and learned not to plant such huge garden beds that it’s too much to care for and preserve! We’ve had some disappointments and lost some trees for various reasons. We’ve had sore muscles and blackberry scratches and taken breaks from bigger vegetable beds to grow just a few herbs and tomatoes some years. Yet, every spring lures us outside with awe at the renewed vigor of the trees and the power of a pumpkin seed determined to grow… and high hopes for a fruitful year.
I’ve always wanted to know more about foraging for wild edibles and cultivate a more natural forest garden. Thankfully, I learned a bit more about identifying edible plants last year from a local friend. This year, I’ve been using that knowledge to find some fresh, wild food from the yard. I’m especially grateful for it since I haven’t been to a grocery store in over a month and miss the fresh fruit and vegetables the most!
Here are some of my favorite books about plants, gardening, and wild food that I’m glad to have on our home book shelves.
I’m also including a few that are more about tending to our inner gardens. These are great for rainy or winter days.
And a few that are on my wish list!
Do you have any favorite gardening or nature books? Please share in the comments! I look forward to checking them out.
For me, gardening is about sowing seeds of love and appreciation for life! It is also about hope. The botanical illustrations in the painting below were all based on plants growing around our home. The painting is called “Unfurling Hope” and has been hanging in our living room while waiting to find a new home. It has been lifting my spirits with the energy and messages that are so potent for these times.
It inspired me to write a poem after many days spent appreciating and listening to the painting and nature this month. What does hope look, taste, sound, smell, feel like to you?
My parents created a work of art with their tropical garden in the Florida Keys. It was like walking through a vibrant painting that came to life! I made the painting that is featured on the CULTIVATION card in my Heart of Life inspiration card deck as a tribute in memory of my mom’s love for nature and life. When we sow seeds of love, we are truly cultivating and planting a legacy of love. With all that is beyond our control in life, we can still choose what we tend to and cultivate. I hope you are finding ways to nourish and nurture yourself… and to flourish!
I can feel all the spring energy and inspiration from Mother Nature filling my creative well. I look forward to enjoying more time painting again when the heat (and bugs) of summer hits. I think of summer afternoons spent painting as siestas in the studio. If you’d like to join me, the Art as an Altar course is available to enjoy anytime. You could paint a garden if you don’t have the time, space, or ability to plant a garden right now.
I’m glad to be able to pass on so much of what I’ve learned through the creative process over several years and countless paintings in the online courses I host. I’ve also found that playful intuitive painting is directly related to the art of living, which is what my own first book is really about. You can get a free preview of my book, The Girl Who Dances With Delight, or have a look inside on Amazon.
You can see more book lists that I’ve shared at ThriveTrue.com/booklists.
May we all remember to lean in to wonder, beauty, joy, and love.
Wishing you well today and all ways.
Love,
Jules
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Julia Ostara © 2020
I am so grateful for our library and recommend you check your local library for referenced books if you’d like to explore them more. I am also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program (an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to amazon.com) since I often link to items anyway! If you see something you’d like to have and are willing to use the links (click image of book) from this page, it will support the Thrive True efforts without costing you anymore than usual. I only list items that I’ve found valuable personally.
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