Dare to be Wild

Plan Sketch for the Mary Reynolds' Celtic Sanctuary

While there is one designated "day" to celebrate Earth (it was yesterday), Earth is obviously something that should be celebrated "daily." Celebration of the wonders of the natural world, our planet, our home, and even just your neck of the woods is something that gives greater meaning to one's life. It is something everyone should take part in.

For Mary Reynolds, an Irish visionary of the Natural Realm, celebrating the wild and raw side of mother nature is her life's work. I learned of Mary's work in a film that just recently popped up on Netflix (though the film is from 2015). Having an affinity for both nature and Ireland, I watched it and loved it. "Dare to be Wild" is the true story of Mary Reynolds and her somewhat anti-garden that won, against all odds, the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show. It's not a film about flowers or gardening or accolades but a film about the magic of nature and wild places and Mary's passion to instill that in others. 

Mary is actually not a proponent of what most of us call flower gardens. They are actually unnatural things (ever wonder why so many things we plant fail miserably.....?). She urges us to be inspired by the wild places of untouched wilderness around us, to protect these places, to make new places of wilderness. They are often much more moving and inspirational (not to mention important to ecosystems and habitat) than manicured lawns and color coded flower beds. Wild places are those places, often found in youth, often by accident that feel otherworldly because they are. They weren't made by man but by the spirit of the Earth, by whatever name you call it. They awe us, inspire us, bewitch us. So, by all means, get out there, knee deep in wonderful weeds (they are wildflowers!) and be enchanted by some wild places. 

Mary's Garden - The Celtic Sanctuary that won the Chelsea Flower Show. 

If you are so inclined, Mary's also written a book - The Garden Awakening which offers ways to create a wild garden in harmony with the Earth. 

Also HERE is a podcast with Mary Reynolds, interviewed by Mindie Burgoyne of Thin Places Ireland.