What would it take to revitalize your relationship with nature? Get you outside, in tune with and alive to your surroundings? Do you have a place to sit and feel the wind on your face when the human-focused world is stressing you out? Or do you have a backyard that makes you tired just looking at it– all work and no joy?
When we put away our shovels and go home at the end of a job, it is incredibly satisfying to hear how excited our clients are about their newly restored landscape. Sometimes it is as simple as pruning a few trees to open up a heart-expanding view; sometimes it’s a complete transition from an empty lawn to a network of paths and abundant plantings. Whatever the scope of the job, the transformation invites clients to enjoy the health benefits of living more closely with nature; our job satisfaction goes through the roof when our clients contact us months later and tell us that they feel mentally and physically revived by their new landscape.
Often, when we restore a garden, it becomes clear that we are also restoring a gardener– someone who needs help to reconnect with his/her landscape. This was the case with Don Snow, who graciously allowed us to record his conversation with Rosmarie Lohnes. It would be an understatement to say that Don is an avid gardener: he’s the president of the Bridgewater Garden Club and his landscape has been 16 years in the making. Bus tours used to stop at his gardens! In the last few years, however, health challenges kept him out of his gardens long enough that it became discouraging for him to walk around the yard. After we’d worked on his gardens for three sweltering days in June, Don lined up our crew, told them what our work meant to him and then took them out for ice cream. We didn’t get that moment on film, but this video should give you an idea of how fulfilling it can be to help a gardener rediscover joy in the landscape he worked so hard to create. Thanks Don!