I just spent the day working in the garden. It creates a certain sort of soreness in all the large and small muscles that is most gratifying. As I dust off my knees, hang up my tools for the day and rub my allergy itchy eyes, the only thing I want to do is take a long hot soak in the tub. It’s my favorite way to nurse my body after a hard day in the yard. So I turn to a few of my favorite floral plant allies to quickly craft up a nourishing and soothing blend of bath soak and body oil. As a bath soak and body oil blend, chamomile and rose is divinely aromatic and calming. As I soak the day away at golden hour and watch the buds of rose and chamomile swirl in the steaming waters around my knees and hair I dream of the flowers that will soon burst to life in my freshly prepped garden.

I know it will take heaps of muscle and a generous amount of care to revive this old plot for spring planting, but there’s no other work I’d rather be doing. I am a gardener. I carry the energy, the vision, and the heart to cultivate magic. Here’s my best master gardener tips for amending soil and preparing your garden beds for spring using the no-till method.

This year we found ourselves with loads of bits and scraps of paper from various learning activities + projects, and I was inspired by a pen pal to give paper making a go. For a little extra fun, we added wildflower seeds, so the paper can be returned to the earth and provide for our pollinator friends.

Learn how to make your own wild pine infused vinegar natural cleaning spray. Forage for pine needles and try my easy Wild Pine All Purpose Cleaning Spray recipe to enliven your spring cleaning activities this season. Consider this a sneak peek into my upcoming Forage & Wildcrafting Course that launches Spring 2021.

Seasonal living supports us in many practical ways throughout daily life. Connecting to nature seasonally can also support us from a spiritual perspective. Rooted in ancient sacred paganism and the modern Wiccan tradition, The Wheel of the Year offers a sacred calendar and rituals that align with nature.

For those that aren’t obsessed with gardening, it may come as a shock to learn that it is absolutely necessary to shop for seeds in January. However, January is truly the best time to shop for seeds preceding any spring gardening activities. Purchasing seeds early helps us plan our kitchen gardens appropriately and schedule out the best days to sow seeds before seed-starting season arrives in March.

Our approach to view the seasons is to break down the year into six seasons that correlate with the life cycle stages that all life endures. As gardeners and foragers that so often observe the rise and decline of life outdoors, we view the year from this six-season perspective. Here I’m sharing the annual year broken down by the 6 seasons plus ways to align with the season in order to experience a seasonal year.

Embarking on a journey of seasonal living has been one of the most nourishing and transformational experiences of my life. Although, it required experiencing an intense burnout and breakdown in order for me to realize how important living closer to nature was for my health and happiness.

Learn from a zero-waste flower studio how to dry flowers to create sustainable flower arrangements for the holidays or any season.

Nature has always been a place for me to self-soothe. Whether it's been starting a garden and learning how to tend my heart in the same way I do my plants, or by going on walks in the forest to discover wild herbs and edibles. There's no denying how therapeutic it is to escape into nature and recalibrate our true north, or as I call it: rewilding. In the chaos of our global pandemic, economic instability, climate change, and social justice movements layered on top of an already fast-paced and overstimulated culture, I see the need now more than ever, for people to rewild. So, I’ve rounded up a list of 15 ways to rekindle your connection nature and rewild yourself.

Gardening by the phases of the moon may seem like a mystical or superstitious way to cultivate plants, but in fact it’s a biodynamic gardening method that farmers and gardeners have practiced throughout the ages. Sowing and harvesting with the moon has turned many of my mundane garden tasks into magical rituals that strengthen my awareness of the cycles of nature. It has helped me cultivate a thriving and beautifully productive garden landscape that nourishes both my body and soul.

So you’ve planted your edible garden (perhaps for the first time), and now it’s summer and your plants are starting to grow. What an exciting time it is to be in this stage of the growing season! If you are new to gardening or lack confidence in growing a bountiful and nutrient rich kitchen garden, then these summer garden maintenance tips will not only help you keep your garden healthy, but make sure it thrives and produces a delicious harvest all summer long.

With lockdown restrictions lifting I find myself more than eager to venture farther from my home. For the past 10 weeks I’ve been confined to working from the couch, socially distanced walks in the park, and backyard solo hangouts. The flowering of springtime and the rush of snowmelt has forest trails and gushing streams beckoning my earthy soul. My legs crave rugged terrain to navigate, my lungs are desperate for fresh mountain air, and my heart yearns for the freedom of the wild. I’m not accustomed to being restricted as much as we have been these last few months, so with these reasserted freedoms, exploration off the beaten path is my goal for the day. This too, just like so many things these days, feels like a privilege and a blessing.

Weeding has become an essential self-soothing routine these weeks at home lately. On the worst of days it’s a task to distract me. Other days it feels more like a sacred meditation, or an intimate dialog between me and Her. In this therapy session with nature, she reminds me that things are not always as they seem. Labels are deceiving. A “weed”, after all, is only a flower growing in a place where someone doesn’t want it.

While I’m sequestered at home during this pandemic I’m on a mission to occupy my time with any seasonal nature-based craft that I can. I love crafting with plants and finding new ways to use up old kitchen scraps to minimize my food waste. Because of our economic circumstances, I’ve been inclined to be a bit more thrifty - to use every last lit bit and use what resources I already have wisely, instead of going out and spending money on non-essentials. Since Easter is right around the corner, I decided to dye easter eggs using only a few natural and readily available ingredients from my kitchen. This seasonal craft is insanely easy to do, and the color possibilities are so limitless that it’s the perfect nature craft for both adults and kids.

My eyes opened softly and blinked away the sleep of another fitful night. I yawned and stretched leisurely as I looked out the window above my bed to greet the grey spring morning. There was nothing to do and nowhere to go so I welcomed the opportunity to linger in bed. It was our first day off in weeks. A welcomed rest, but gifted at the cost of being unemployed due to the national mandate to isolate and halt any non-essential business. As my husband and I lay in bed, propped up on our forearms with linen sheets tangled around our waists, we quietly gazed out the window searching for answers in our minds' eyes. As nice as it felt to finally be home while the panic about the coronavirus pandemic continued in the outside world, we couldn’t help but wonder how we’d survive the next few months financially. The uncertainty of sustaining our health and the health of our family members also muddled our quandering thoughts. So I did what I always do when my ends feel fried; I escaped into nature to calm my mind.

Growing our own food to be more self-sustaining has never been more important than it is right now. During these fearful times of this evolving economic and pandemic crisis, knowing that I could grow all of my household’s food if necessary gives me great comfort. If you are anything like me, you are dying to get seeds into the ground in as soon as possible so your family can be that much closer to eating delicious home-grown veggies. Knowing what to plant and when can be overwhelming as a beginner gardener, but I’m here to demystify this process, share my best tips as a master gardener, and help you get your dream kitchen garden started.

Springtime is an entire season dedicated to the celebration of new beginnings, fertility, the quickening of life, and the beautiful birthing and rebirthing process. In nature we watch new babies hatch, fuzzy wide-eyed animals emerge and take their first steps, and delicate blooms flower a fragrant performance. This season is intoxicatingly beautiful and always passes much too quickly. In my efforts to slow down and live more connected to nature, I’ve compiled a list of ways to live seasonally in spring.

When I add a new tool to my collection, I’m not just buying a tool to get the job done, I’m buying an extension to my hands that will garden and forage with me for the rest of my life. These tools will become my allies and comrades in all my ventures, and so I regard tool buying as one of my most important gardening and foraging tasks. Nevertheless the sheer amount of tools on the market can be overwhelming. Knowing what tool is best for what job, or learning what tool can help make many tasks easier takes time and experience. So I’ve compiled a guide to share the gardening and foraging tools that I cannot work without. And I’ve shared what tasks I use them for, too.

These longer sunnier days feel more like springtime, and I've definitely gotten bit by the spring cleaning bug. I feel that a household refresh is an amazing way to usher in the start of new season. Since transitioning to a lower waste lifestyle, some of my most favorite swaps have been in my cleaning supplies kit. Before making these low waste and natural cleaning swaps, I did a lot of research because I wanted to do what was best for my health and home, as well as for the environment. In an effort to help you reset and refresh your home this spring, I’m sharing my tips on how to make sustainable and natural cleaning swaps in the home.