53: The Garden Awakening with Mary Reynolds

Unclassified Woman

My guest today on Unclassified Woman is the fabulous Mary Reynolds, who is based in Ireland, one of my favourite places in the world. (I am 3/4 Irish so slightly biased!).

Mary lives and breathes her work as a landscape and garden designer, teaching others how to connect with the land beneath our feet and have a nurturing relationship with it.

Her gorgeous book that is about much more than mere gardening. It's a call to action for all of us. The Garden Awakening highlights her role as “a guardian rather than a gardener.” She believes in cultivating a relationship with the land and working in harmony with Mother Nature. She views being a gardener/land owner as someone who is like a parent guiding a child. In creating vibrant and magical spaces, she displays her creative spirit where gardens are a partnership between sensitive souls and the earth that nurtures us.

I highly recommend Dare to be Wild, a film inspired by a period in her life, when she became the youngest woman to win the gold medal at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show. (Download after listening to this podcast on Google Play Movies).

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Why Mary is a “custodian of the land” and a “creature of the forest”;
• Feeling at home and strongly connected to nature;
• A strong childhood memory of a field, sunshine, and butterflies;
• Belonging to the family of plants and creatures;
• Different places, different vibrations, and unique personalities;
• Our connection with places and bodies, mirroring the earth;
• Working in harmony with the land;
• Our role as guardians and light holders of the woodlands;
• Abuse of the land reflecting the abuse of women;
• How we treat the earth with industrial farming and chemicals;
• The synchronistic system between us and the earth;
• How Mary communicates with the earth, the plants, and the creatures;
• Her advice? Find some land to work with in your community;
• The unfair distribution of land;
• “Dismantle the ego-self and create the eco-self.”
• Evolving in the future and what's next for Mary;
• How the film came about;
• Remembering what’s important and finding your way home;
• How working with the land heals your heart. Order Mary's book: here:https://www.michellemariemcgrath.com/garden-awakening-designs-nurture-land/

To follow Mary on her journey as she works her gardens and her land, you can visit her website: http://marymary.ie

I do hope you enjoyed this episode and would be eternally grateful if you left us a testimonial or rating on itunes. Please subscribe and share with a friend who would enjoy. For more episodes go to michellemariemcgrath.com