Being in nature generates feelings of coziness and protection. It can be a deeply spiritual experience to prepare, plant and nurture a garden space – one that balances our emotional-being in a unique way. With the growing of things – a small container of herbs on a windowsill or a field of flowers – we can find joy in transforming our environment.
After working in finance for many years, Leanne Johnson approached her then client (Gardenworks) with the idea of switching industries and thus began to follow her dream into a career in gardening. Today, she is the President of Gardenworks/Mandeville Gardens.
Leanne’s connection with nature and gardening began at age eight when she often visited her grandparents to spend warm Okanagan summers with them. There, she helped plant and maintain a large vegetable garden, which was a fun and valuable learning experience.
Through her university years, Leanne missed the outdoors she enjoyed growing up. Her small apartment did not lend itself to having a garden. Still, Leanne always tried to bring nature into her space by placing small plants and freshly cut flowers around her home.
“That’s the beauty [of gardening], whether you have a balcony, windowsill or backyard, it’s possible to have a garden.”
Leanne and her family have lived in a 90-year-old home they renovated in North Vancouver for 28 years. In that time, Leanne’s inspiration and motivation for gardening has grown. She has been able to express her creativity by working with landscapers and designers to create a garden oasis.
“The garden changes as your lifestyle changes,” she says. “Early on, it was designed for the kids with strawberries and veggies for them to grow and enjoy, and with more grass for them to play on. Today, my sons are grown, and I now have the garden I’ve been dreaming of for 20 years.”
Leanne and her husband have made a pact to eat something fresh from their garden every day as a way of staying connected to the plants they grow.
Her passion for nature has had an impact on her children as well. One son is following in her footsteps and works as a horticulturalist, and the other dabbles with his own container gardening. For Leanne, gardening is a generational gift – something to pass on to others that will benefit them spiritually and offer the means to positively connect with the community in a joyful way.
At work, Leanne sees the multi-generational interest in gardening increasing, and Gardenworks is shifting its focus to include more education and supportive elements to its services.
“I am very lucky to work with a staff of varying ages that are passionate about gardening with a keen desire to share their knowledge.”
Leanne believes that connecting with nature makes us happy.
“There is so much research that links plants to well-being,” she says. “Gardening gives us a sense of control and security. That we can provide for ourselves, and a belief that the world is not such a bad place after all… there is hope.”
Sometimes it can be good to lose ourselves in an activity, to get so inspired with something that we become 100% present. Leanne shares her philosophy.
“I get lost out in the garden; for me it is connecting to nature and witnessing the marvel of growing things. Mother Nature has her own timeline, and this teaches us to be patient and to understand that some things are not within our control. I make mistakes and sometimes I don’t know why a planting didn’t work. Gardening teaches us humility.”
During stressful times, the garden can soothe and inspire. Gardening is a creative outlet, a means to find balance in the sights and smells of nature. Nature reminds us that there is a cycle and season for everything, and it motivates us to try new things. Life’s lessons unfold when we can reap what we sow in a garden.
“Through gardening… you are making the world a better place.”
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