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

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Tel: 01342 824320
Mobile: 07952 751029
Email: Michael Fuller Gardens
Price: £12.99
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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