By Elizabeth Spence with Alexandria Nunn
At this time of year, midwinter, we are cozily settled in by our firesides with the cat on our lap or the dog at our feet, a lovely cup of tea on the side, and a gardening book (or perhaps this website) in our hands

Bathed in the fire-light we perhaps fondly remember how, at the height of the season, the garden produced wonderful physical and spiritual effects in us.
In our Petrichor article Jennifer waxed ecstatic over her experience amongst the carrot fronds, and our newbie garden neighbour, Peter Martyn, realized what gardening is really about.
Quiet reading, which takes us to other places in our minds, is the gentlest of pastimes. It’s the next best thing to being physically engrossed in our summer gardens.
It’s a kind of meditation, and our friend, Alexandria Nunn, who runs the Pure Meditation Centre with her husband Mark at the Mountain Serenity Retreat in Wentworth, asked us to think about the connection between gardening and meditation. So we did.
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We know that working in the garden can be a type meditation in itself. But as we are sitting by the fireside, imagining and planning, why don’t we think about incorporating a little dedicated meditation space into our garden?
It doesn’t have to be anything fancy – just a quiet spot, something like a secret garden. Pick a place that feels comfortable, peaceful and right. The main point is that whatever place you choose it should feel protected from the outside world.
Step One: Find or Create a Secluded Spot
The first thing to do is think of a secluded or tranquil spot. The “meditation garden” can be as simple as a bench in a perennial bed or a chair under a tree:


You can go ahead and make an area secluded by selecting a place which already has trees and shrubs to form part of the perimeter and you can plant shrubs, tall flowers, grasses or small trees in pots to fill things in.
Or you can construct “walls” with latticework, hand-made fence or chain-link fencing or anything else and then have climbing vines or roses covering them.
Or you could go the zen route and keep it really simple:

Step Two: Make a Secret Portal
A hidden entrance is always lovely – an archway or a gate or both increase the sense of enclosure and seclusion.


Step Three: Design Your Area
At Ground Level
Do you want simple pavers? Grass? Flowers? Do you want garden beds or pots or both? If there are lots of tree roots or if it is very shady, pots might be the way to go. Make a quick design
Furniture
What furniture do you want in your little garden – just a comfortable chair?
Or perhaps a version of a bench described in the 13th century made of grass and flowers planted on stones and planks where you could sit and meditate on God and the meaning of life. (See our article on the history of gardening)
A chamomile bench might be an idea!!
Decorative Items
Stones, lanterns, statues?
Water
The sound of water is always soothing, so perhaps a large bowl with a solar fountain in it would do if you don’t want to hook up a pump. What about a bird bath?


Step Four: Select Plants
Plants and flowers offer us so much for our little garden.
- First there are the shapes and sizes and colours. Since the area is small, we might want to restrict the colour palette. Pick your favourites.
- Then there is the fragrance. Think of sweet peas, lavender, lilies, nicotiana and other sweet-smelling flowers. And herbs too: rub a bit of lemon balm or lavender between your fingers before settling down.
- Attract the birds and other pollinators with bee-balm, sunflowers, black-eyed Susan, asters, honeysuckle, teasel and shrub roses if they are your fancy.


In these various ways we can help stop our minds from busily chattering away and create a private space in our gardens and in our heads where we can enjoy peace, stillness and tranquility.
Step Five: Meditation Training
Alexandria suggests that in addition to the almost “natural” meditation that we can experience in our gardens, there is room for proper meditation training to help intensify the experience. She says:
“The most important type of meditation we teach is the beautiful, ancient, in-depth PURE MEDITATION which includes Raja-Kriya Yoga and has been handed down through the centuries and perfected for the modern age.
“With regular meditation practice, we achieve greater insight into our unique path and purpose in life and we can retain a sense of deep calm and balance at all times,
“A good meditation will develop many profound personal qualities including unconditional love, respect, tolerance and compassion. We are able to deepen our appreciation, awe and respect for nature in all its forms and marvel at its infinite beauty and its ability to feed and nurture us on all levels of our being including our spiritual selves.
“When we practice meditation we cultivate our positive energies, and they go into the garden with us. The trees and flowers sense these energies which help them bloom and grow more abundantly.
A happy gardener means happy plants!
“Through practicing meditation we can receive even more pleasure from working with and alongside nature outside in our gardens.

“However good or experienced a gardener we may be, or however much we already appreciate and enjoy gardening, there is ALWAYS a deeper level to which we can take these feelings. We can not only enhance the garden experience itself, but also learn to stay calm and balanced when the seasons or weather prevent us from being out in our gardens.
“The most important benefit of meditation though is an increased love and respect for the Divine Power that has given us the beauty of nature to marvel at and participate in, all the while feeding our souls.”
If you would like to avail yourself of Alexandia and Mark’s services to develop your meditation skills, please contact them here.
Originally from England where they trained, Alexandra and Mark lived and taught in British Columbia for 13 years in schools, colleges, social services, care homes and indigenous communities, and they have continued this work in Nova Scotia since 2009.
January, 2025
One Response
What a brilliant idea, excellent photos.