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Be Inspired by our Gardens | A Tribute to Darlene O’Connor

Many of the therapeutic benefits of immersing yourself in our beautiful gardens can be reproduced when you garden at home. Sowing a few seedlings, planting veggies in a small container on your deck, or simply decorating your windowsill with some fresh herbs can help your health flourish.

You’ll not only enjoy eating fresh, nutrient-dense foods, but studies show that home gardening boosts happiness and activity levels, while reducing stress and worries. Gardening is an excellent activity for practicing mindfulness too. Digging in the dirt coupled with the fresh air lets you reconnect with your spirit and the living world, and disconnect from life’s fast pace.

Green care is self-care: It brings us calm, balance, and connection. So make it a colourful season of growth and newness with home gardening. Flowers or veggies? In containers or in the ground? Start small and let things bloom. Create a box of aromatic herbs such as lavender, sage, basil, or thyme. Or plant a backyard patch of easier-to-grow veggies like spinach, peas, green beans, and leafy greens that you can feast on over the summer.

Get ready, set, and sow! Some seeds thrive in May’s cool soil and air temperatures including peas, spinach, radishes, Swiss chard, and kale, but keep frost-tender tomatoes, squash, beans, and peppers for early June planting. Or simply purchase seedling plants for a fresh and easy start. Make sure to read the plant tag carefully and keep in mind that veggies need a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight a day. 

If flowers feed your soul, May and June's earth is also warm enough to welcome glorious sunflower seeds, along with marigolds, zinnia, moonflower, and morning glory. Other hardy flowering plants include pansies, violas, ranunculus, mums, and flowering bulbs including tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinths.

And we love lavender. The aroma and colour are so uplifting and this hardy plant is beautiful even when it’s not blooming. Our charming Tranquility Garden bursts with a labyrinth of lavender, its calming fragrance leaving you in a complete state of relaxation. At home you can recreate this soothing scent indoors with our pure Lavender Essential Oil and, in addition, the aromatherapy of our effective Skin Nourishment line comes from pure botanical ingredients, many we organically grow or expertly wildcraft ourselves.

Planting and caring for something from seed to harvest offers a sense of accomplishment and pride – our guests reap the rewards of our healing properties, our harvests, and green practices, and that brings us great joy. Guests find bliss and hopefulness wandering Ste. Anne’s lovingly cared-for property, including our seasonal food gardens filled with an array of fruits, greens, edible flowers, and other vegetables. Our chefs ensure guests experience gastronomy straight from our rich soil with a fabulous menu infused with seasonal delights.

So come see how our gardens grow, be nourished by our bountiful harvests, and be inspired to plant your own garden. Plants make people happy and so do we. Ste. Anne’s Spa nurtures the seeds of positive thoughts and healthy habits and lets your soul blossom in our oasis of health and healing. Happy gardening!