You probably heard thousand times that Nature always teaches something to us. It sounds strange but true – you must accept Nature’s rules and act as part of it. Humans are animals living in Nature ecosystems so our language is mutual, our instincts and moods are similar when we are close to each other. Let Nature inside you and you will be in Nature, too.

I act as an open minded animal in my garden and let the vibe run through my senses. These are the things I have discovered along the way:

1 . Patience is the Soil of all kind of Growth

We are impatient! I was that kind of person, too but one day I accepted that excitement of waiting a seed to sprout is rewarding. Base of Nature’s lifecycle is the new life, the sprouted seed and the blossoming flower. Let Nature run its born processes on their way and do not interfere with artificial ways. Nothing rushes in the garden.

Patience is not just required – it is rewarding.

2. Chaotic is not ugly, it has another side of beauty

On a sterile, neatly trimmed lawn, only the lawnmower hums, it is orderly, but lifeless. The untouched, wild patches in your garden offer a constant home to bumblebees and food for pollinators.
Give them space beside you, and they will thank you with vibrant chirping and bold, challenging songs.

3. Everything is part of everything

We have parents, we have dogs and cats, we are part of relationships. We bond with others and others bond with us. We have a favorite fruit tree, a beloved flower, we have memories and experiences. The nature that surrounds our lives often called an ecosystem, a web of millions of unseen threads connecting us – from the fungi beneath the soil to the soft-stemmed herbs and woody plants, to the birds, the insects, the animals that move through our days.

I hold my dog close and listen – feel the rhythm of his vast heart pulsing beneath my hand, moving life itself.

It calms me, knowing I’m near.

That I can belong to it all.

That I am part of it.

4. There is no such thing as a perfect harvest year – there is only the year itself

I don’t expect worm-free cherries, nor do I need every carrot to grow straight. Tending my garden is joy and relaxation, not sweat and strain. I accept that others might take a bite of my apple while it’s still on the tree, or sample a few red currants. There is plenty left for me. In a healthy garden, there is a bite for everyone and no one harms another to get it.

The image of perfection doesn’t exist in the reality of everyday life. Lets stop chasing the unreachable! A small strawberry, with a bit of soil on it, can offer the truest taste of all.

5. Weeds are just plants we haven’t learned to love yet

Three is no good or bad in the garden, everything plays a role in the cycle. The greatest “faul” of weeds is that they never learned to grow in neat rows, and they do not hang little signs around their stems listing all the useful things they do. But if we pay attention, weeds reveal secrets about our gardens. They tell us about the soil, its quality, its compaction, and even its nutrient content.

All we have to do is listen.

6. Every life matters – even the invisible ones

In my garden, it is not just vibrant flowers and strong trees that live. There are oddly shaped weeds, large and fearsome-looking toads, earthworms as thick as pencils, and sometimes even flocks of starlings drop by. I often hear others express disgust at mice, spiders or frogs. But each of them is part of Nature, a member of the great family we all belong to.

We do not have to love them.

We simply need to accept them.

7. Compost your mistakes!

Twisted carrots and bruised tomatoes. Pulled weeds and broken pepper stems. Overgrown, yellowing cucumbers and green beans nibbled by mice, we all meet these in summer. Toss them on your compost pile.

They’ll become life again, nourishment for your next planting.

8. Plants are not alternative medicine, they are the original.

Humans are animals. Animals are part of nature. We cannot tear ourselves away from our roots, our biology is bound to the plant world by a thousand invisible threads. I grow dozens of medicinal herbs in my garden and it is still not enough. I drink my own nettle tea. I gather chamomile by hand. Dried aronia taste sharp, even bitter but their power is undeniable.

Lets Nature’s medicine chest have a place in your garden, too!

9. You can’t control Nature, you have to live with it!

In my garden I can change things slowly. I do not rush. I try to adapt to what I observe. I don’t mow the grass short everywhere. I do not force the bushes and trees to grow in straight rows. Trying to control and dominate everything is a constant source of stress. It pulls your attention away from what truly matters.

Let’s adapt!

Let the oddly growing shrubs be.

Let the garden teach us something we did not plan to learn.

10. A garden is never finished.

I have dreams of what kind of garden I’d like to have one day but I do not chase after perfect pictures. I often let the shrubs grow wherever they choose. I just walk around them. Yesterday I found my self touching trees, checking on the fresh grafts, watching how they are taking shape. Some show promise, some will fail. Life continues to push forward and failings never happened.

I never once felt that a garden could ever truly be finished.

Gardening can be a profession with rules taught in books. But a garden is more than that, if you accept that you are part of it too. There are no real rules, because you don’t want to control it, you want to live with it. You grow to love the weeds beside your beets, because when they end up on the compost, they become the start of new life. Your garden gives you more than vegetables, it teaches you to be an accepting, patient, and attentive animal in this universe.

What has your garden taught you?