Ceremony for our new Community Garden

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This past Saturday the residents of Full Bloom plus several visitors participated in a ceremony to inaugurate our new community garden.  We created a ceremony that drew from multiple traditions that included some singing and offerings to the earth ( we made a mandala out of flowers, branches, beautiful colored corn and candles).  Through the ceremony we were able to set our intention together to create a garden that will be a place for people to reconnect with nature and foster a sense of community.

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Above is a picture of the mandala we made, as each individual added natural elements.  It was then wrapped up and buried 2ft deep in the center of the garden.

Cultures have engaged in ceremonies in their gardens for a thousands of years and it feels good to be continuing in the footsteps of those sustainable cultures we emulate.

“The mystery religions were instituted in order to protect the marvels of the commonplace from those who would devalue them.”
― Peter Redgrove

 

 

Our New Community Garden!!

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Its an exciting time here at Full Bloom as we create our Enchanted Community Garden in the center of the land.  Above is Micaela measuring out the space as part of the garden bed mapping out.  She was our inspired designer of the garden, creating a mandala of shapes including a heart, a star, and a yin/yang symbol.  How fun huh?!

We will be planting an assortment of “permaculture” plants.  These are plants that serve multiple ecological functions such as food for us, food for friends (birds and beneficial insects), soil improvement, and of course beauty (a key piece of sustainability, for beauty will attract people to the place to the garden to take care of it).

Below is a picture of the beds actually being hand dug.  We are digging out the topsoil of the paths and putting the soil on the beds so they will be extra rich.  The final layer will be a couple of inches of premium local composts.  The plants will be ecstatically happy!

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We’ve sowed hundreds of plants in the Greenhouse to fill in the garden and have a nursery order coming with all kinds of perennial shrubs and small trees like lilac, elderberry, hawthorn, and serviceberry.

What a gift it is to be able to co-create beauty and abundance.

“There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.”  ~Mirabel Osler

 

Full Bloom is Gearing up for a Busy “Growing Season”

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The energy of spring is edging itself into our lives here at Full Bloom, as we sow seeds that will later be big beautiful heads of cabbage and lettuce and the sunny days invite the fruit trees to break out of dormancy.  Currently there are 5 couples, 3 children and Bachelor (say isn’t that the name of a movie or something?).  We are enjoying hearty communal dinners 5 nights a week, with lots of local Chicken soups and wild venison stews and Bread “Rise Up! Artisan Bread” that is based on the land here.

We’re also knee deep in the design process for the somatic arts studio that we will commence building next month.  With the help of a wonderful young architect John Hutton (a.k.a the Bachelor) we are going to be creating an epically beautiful space for people to come and shake off their self-limitations through dance or experience the grounding and liberating qualities of Yoga.  The completion of the studio will be a huge leap for us as a community.  We will be able to offer so much more to the broader community and be supported in our own efforts towards healing and awakening.

A enchanted community food garden is also on the horizon this spring.  We will be creating a colorful edible landscape right outside our community building soon.  It will be a place that combines the joys of harvesting owns lunch with the heart nourishment of winding down paths just to take in the miracle of mother nature.

All in all we feel blessed and fortunate to live in such a beautiful place with such kind and creative people all around us.

Till next time……Ryan