The Wellness Garden

I’ve admired Shawna Coronado’s work for a long while, not only for her creative approach to landscaping, but also because she believes (as I do) that when we invite visitors into our garden spaces, new friendships take root and grow.

I also admire her grit and grace. Shawna shared openly the despair she felt when she was first diagnosed with degenerative osteoarthritis, a few years back. Devastating, but she never put down her garden trowel. She instead found ways to translate her lifelong passion into new ways of being, all of which are chronicled in her latest book, The Wellness Garden: Grow, Eat, and Walk Your Way to Better Health.

In addition to dietary changes, Shawna speaks to the importance of daily walks, activities that build flexibility (such as yoga), and consistent exposure to nature and the outside world, all of which help nourish us from the inside out. And of course, she literally digs in the dirt of her therapeutic garden, taking full advantage of the nutritious foods she grows.

The Wellness Garden is equally valuable to the urban hobbyist and rural farmer—it’s chock-full of ideas for growing healthy plants in large and small spaces (e.g., containers and “living walls”), composting and chemical-free gardening, building raised beds, and incorporating colorful vegetables into decorative borders.

Shawna’s book is for practical, down-to-earth folks like you and me. But while she doesn’t wander into the weeds, her main assertions are backed by science. As always, her beautiful photographs invite readers to come outside and play. I handed my copy to Karen Reinhart, who visited me last week from Spokane, Washington. We savored it together, and were equally inspired. And when we put our heads together to write this blog, both of us agreed: Everyone who’s interested in health and well-being can find something of benefit in this book.

Note: I received a review copy of The Wellness Garden from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

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