The garden is my healing place. There's nothing like getting your hands in the soil to feel productive. It makes me feel whole. - Jo-Ann Pouliot
People garden for various reasons. Some of us like to grow our own organic food, others like to be outdoors in the sunshine and many people love to grow their own flowers. For Jo-Ann Pouliot of Fletcher, North Carolina, gardening began when she wanted to improve the appearance of a weedy front yard. But over time, she was motivated to garden for other reasons, even though she was not a gardener.
Jo-Ann and her husband Jim decided to move to Fletcher from Wisconsin 28 years ago after a series of heartbreaking life events, including losing two sons. But they began to feel lonely in their new home. Jo-Ann was looking for something positive to do to help with her feelings of grief and loneliness.
The Beginning of a Garden
As she looked at her front yard, she decided to tackle cleaning up that area first. She met a gardening friend through her job who helped her. She quickly realized that working in her yard and spending time in nature was a way to focus her energy in a new direction. Her faith guided her to make the choice to be positive. Then, as she said, "One thing led to another."
After weeding her front yard, Jo-Ann started planting a garden. Gradually she expanded her garden, both in front of the house and in the back. She decided to work in one spot before moving to another. Her garden has gone through cycles, depending on her health and the weather. After a number of illnesses and surgeries in recent years, she had to temporarily stop gardening, but slowly she recovered and went back to work. Working in her garden helped her to heal physically and emotionally.
During the year, there are seasonal changes in Jo-Ann's garden. Spring brings plants with many different shapes and textures of green, such as ferns, hostas and trilliums. Summer brings more color with plants such as Black-eyed Susans, hydrangeas, Virginia Bluebells and phlox. Jo-Ann says that she enjoys the beauty of all these plants. Her garden peaks at the beginning of July.
She makes detailed records of her garden. "It's very important to keep a diary of what you're planting and what the weather is like," she said. This way she can reference what worked and what didn't work the previous year.
Garden Inspiration
Inspired by the beauty of her plants, Jo-Ann started to express her creativity by adding walking paths lined with stones, and a collection of yard art featuring small statues and bird baths. Once again, one thing led to another. Her creativity flourished as her garden expanded.
Throughout this experience of working in her garden, Jo-Ann was guided by her faith and her desire to feel whole again, in mind, body and spirit. Creating this garden was a turning point in her life that has given her purpose and joy. Her garden has truly become her healing place.
Judith Canty Graves is an award-winning columnist with a home garden in Asheville. Follow @TheObservantGardener on Instagram to see new garden photos daily. This article appears in The Laurel of Asheville magazine.