When I finally was able to purchase my dream property and expand my gardening space from a typical suburban plot to a 1.5-acre dream lot, I thought my greatest challenge was going to be gardening in the shade. There were few sunny spots to be found on this woodland oasis. Determined to make it all work, I set about building flower and vegetable beds.

But I soon found out that the shade was not my greatest obstacle. It was pain.

Pain and disability had crept up on me. Suddenly, I was constantly hurting and injured as I tried to build new beds. Well, it seemed sudden, but chronic joint pain creeps up in this insidious way. I had always attributed the pain before to ‘over-doing it’. Now that I needed my body to work for me daily as I tackled new projects, my body was letting me down.

I didn’t react well this situation. I first tried to deny its existence and power through. I would get better. As soon as I got over this injury, I would return to ‘normal’ and I would be able to work hard again.

But as the pain persisted, I shut down.

I became depressed and started giving up on my dreams of garden nirvana.

I went to doctors, but they couldn’t ‘fix’ me. They only offered prescription drugs to mask the pain. Prescription drugs to relax the muscles. Prescription drugs to calm the nerve pain. Prescription drugs to address the emotional pain. I took them all, but to no avail. I was only getting worse. And where one joint failed, it stressed the other joints as I continued doing things the way I knew how to do them. Soon, I found this compound affect shutting me down completely.

I was devastated. After years of hard work and raising kids, it was my turn to have the place of my dreams and I could no longer physically achieve my dream. Life is so unfair!

But giving up on gardening was not an option.

So now, with a new sense of determination, I am committed to finding ways to continue to do the gardening that I want to do, but to do it with minimal pain and no injury.

Additionally, I’m finding ways to deal with pain and injury that help me rely less on harsh, prescription drugs. Just as I strive to keep an organic garden, I also want to keep an organic body.

This blog is about my quest to find better ways. Better ways to manage my thoughts, my body, my nutrition, my gardening methods, my support and complementary remedies. I welcome you to join me in this conversation and help us all continue to do what brings us joy for many years to come.