Awakening to Nature

A Practical and Meditative Journey Through the Gardening Year
by Michael Fuller

Pre-order your signed copy by contacting me by email, phone or text for payment possibilities. 

Tel: 01342 824320
Mobile: 07952 751029
Email: Michael Fuller Gardens

Price: £12.99
(plus £2.50 postage) or
free delivery in local area

Green Magic Publishing
ISBN: 978-1915580245
170pp; Pub date: 21 03 2025

‘This is a very, very fine book’ Glennie Kindred

Awakening to Nature is a collection of gardening articles written for ‘Forest Row Local’ between 2020 and 2024. A friend’s encouragement and an enforced work break (due to a fractured foot involving plum collection from a wobbly ladder) led to gathering these into book form. ‘Green Magic’ who specialise in nature and spirituality, will publish the book on March 21st 2025.

The book ranges from practical thoughts and suggestions on gardening (lawn-mowing, pruning, composting, leaf raking etc) to the more contemplative side of horticulture that considers the cycle of the year, ,meditation, communicating with plants and letting go of being ‘in charge’.. The book’s subtitle is A Practical and Meditative Journey Through the Gardening Year which sums up these two sides and points to my working philosophy (to quote Rudolf Steiner): ‘Matter is never without Spirit; Spirit is never without Matter’.

I hope Awakening to Nature will be not only informative, but will also encourage the reader to find ways to connect to gardening as a ‘sacred art’; an approach that places the garden in the context of the yearly cycle. I hope the book will help cultivate a meditative connection with plants and trees, a willingness to ‘let go’ and make mistakes, and allow space for experiments. This attitude has transformed my view of gardening from mere ‘work’ into something richer, both reverent and fun at the same time, often yielding the best results as well!

Praise for ‘Awakening to Nature’:
‘Michael’s book offers a thought-provoking, heart-warming and sympathetic approach to gardening that is conscious of the needs of Nature and wildlife. […] It is a joy to read and I feel it will quickly establish itself as a gardening companion and guide…one to refer to year after year…I Love this book! Glennie Kindred, author: ‘The Sacred Tree’, ‘The Earth’s Cycle of Celebration’ and more

Awakening to Nature’ is an enchanting and invaluable guide for keen gardeners and all who love to spend time in Nature. […]. This is a beautiful book – it is intuitive, practical, and above all uplifting. Susan Raven, author: ‘Nature Spirits – the Remembrance’

When we awaken to the life force of Nature via our garden we begin to remember, as Michael suggests what a “loving, co-creative act of healing” we are engaging in, not only for ourselves but for all life. What a blessing of a book for all gardeners, whether they be gardeners of the soil or the soul.’ Pam Montgomery, author: ‘Co-creating with Nature’ and ‘Plant Spirit Healing’

Contents:
                                                                         
January: Beginnings                                                 
Witch Hazel – January’s Winter bloom                                                  
The garden in January                                                                               
Winter pruning of apple and pear trees 

February: The Light Returns                                   
The garden in February                                                                             
Our native daffodil – the Lent Lily                                                           
Rain in the garden                                                                                      
The union of intuition with intellect  

March: the Time of Balance and Awakening      
The Spring Equinox                                                                                     
The art of ‘incorrect’ gardening                                                               
Rose pruning – ‘no pain, no gain’                                                            
Eco-heaps revisited                                                                                         

April: Into Action                                                     
The compost heap – the ‘heart chakra’ of the garden                         
How green is your grass? – lawn-mowing and climate change            
Weeding reconsidered                                                                               
A simple vegetable plot                                                                             
The hazel – beautiful, generous and useful  

May: Widening into Worldwide Life                     
The garden in May                                                                                    
Celandine – my favourite ‘weed’                                                            
Why we need to recognise plants as sovereign beings                        
(Plant health part 1) 

June: The Sun’s High Hour                                       
The garden in June                                                                                      
June – the month of the rose                                                                   
How can we help plants heal themselves? (Plant health part 2)

July: The Dance Changes
Efficient, ethical and cost-effective – 10 garden tips for July               
‘What shall we do with all this rubbish?’ – how to end the ‘war on weeds’
No-mow May (…and June, July?)                                                               
Trees in the Garden

August: Harvest
Lammas – the festival of first fruits                                                      
Movement is life – the garden in August                                            
Compost – the heart of the garden                                                     
Finding balance in the garden  

September: Pausing at the Equinox 
The garden as place of contemplation                                                
Time for change – petrol vs electricity in the garden                        
The garden in September – saving seeds                                            
Awakening to Nature 

October: Going Within
Autumn in the garden – reconnecting the inner with the outer    
Do we need to ‘get everything ready for Winter’?                           
Bulb planting in October                                                                        
The garden in October – towards Samhain 

November: Fruitful Darkness 
The garden in November                                                                    
Hedges – pruning, planting and making new friends?                   
Winter seed heads                                                                               
Think before you dig  

December: Midwinter light 
The Holly and the Ivy                                                                           
Leaves – Summer’s gift, Winter’s hope                                           
The native hedge – a ‘mini-woodland’ in your garden                  
The Midwinter garden                                                                         

Appendix: Eurythmy and Nature