Another New Year is behind us. Winter is getting longer. Snowbirds flee to southern climates for warmth and sun for vacations or weeks.
Life is the pattern that affects the physical, mental and behavioral well-being of humans as well as plants and animals. Chronobiology is the formal name given to the study of these repeating time-based rhythms.
Circadian rhythms occur in the context of 24-hour patterns of light and dark. In humans, every part of each individual tissue or individual organ has its own “biological clock”. The “master clock” in the brain, made up of about 20,000 nerve cells, receives input directly from the eyes and allows the brain to control and coordinate these tiny body clocks. Yet another pattern is annual, on a more “macro” scale, with year-based seasonal changes that can trigger everything from hibernation instincts to depression or a positive sense of growth and renewal. match.
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On the spiritual side, it is not surprising that we humans seem to intuitively gravitate toward euphoric activities that guide this “mathematics” of our subliminal life force. I’ve been obsessed with understanding and “controlling” time. Rooting our lives in these patterns allows us to feel an ongoing connection to the meaning and structure of our lives.
Gardening is one of the most obvious human endeavors that relies on such rhythms. This may explain why gardening is not only essential to sustaining physical life, but is one of the most popular time-based human spiritual anchors. .
Like many gardeners across the country, I find myself struggling when winter throws a big wrench in my direct connection to the earth. Exercise helps maintain that sense of rhythm.
Some gardeners and gardeners really focus on bringing “time” into the garden. The world-famous Phoenix Botanical Garden Cactus Clock, Canada’s Niagara Flower Clock, and Queen Elizabeth of Edinburgh’s Her Jubilee Flower Clock immediately come to mind.
Still other “garden clocks” are subtle. I’m thinking here a nice oriental bamboo water feature that fills and empties rhythmically. Brings the soothing sound of time flowing to your garden. A sun feature that brings light into the darkness of the garden can accomplish the same thing.
As winter drags on, icy grays can pass faster when you think about “time in the garden.” Our garden catalog is packed with creative possibilities, from sundials to solar-based fountains. am. Long winter nights don’t last forever. This too shall pass.