Shamanic gardening Timeless techniques for the modern sustainable garden

"All is One, One is All" is the main slogan from this primer on approaching your gardening with a spiritual attitude. Miller, a founder of the Shamballa Institute, covers a lot of New Age territory, reflecting her own wide-ranging interests and studies. Unfortunately the results appear as though some basic organic gardening tips, a smattering of historical garden practices, a few New Age ceremonies, a dollop of Native American spiritual beliefs, and some feng shui were mixed in a blender and spilled out in a stream of consciousness. While this is an attractive book with design appeal and good intention, there are much better and more organized reads on organic and sustainable garden practices (anything by Elliot Coleman), gardening with feng shui (Minnie S. Kansman's Spirit Gardens: Rekindling Our Nature Connection), working with garden devas (Thea Summer Deer's Wisdom of the Plant Devas: Herbal Medicine for a New Earth), or on nature spirits (Jamie Wood & Lisa Steinke's The Faerie's Guide to Green Magick from the Garden). VERDICT Although the how-to section on creating plant essences and the 100 pages of notes on edible plants are highlights, readers who select this book based on its strong title may be disappointed.—Janet Tapper, Univ. of Western States Lib., Portland, OR [Page 82]. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Looks at the history of sustainable gardening, covering a variety of techniques, including those of the Japanese, the Pueblo Indians, and Thomas Jefferson, to create an organic garden.

A shaman is one who walks in two worlds, one seen easily by everyone, another seen with the senses of the heart, deep recesses of the mind, and within the collective spiritual consciousness.Shamanic Gardening integrates sustainable ancient and traditional gardening methods with shamanic principles and modern permaculture. The practices, history, myths, recipes, and philosophies inside this book will enhance your relationship with nature, sustain the earth, delight your senses, and nourish your soul.Shamanic Gardening includes a cultural history of sustainable gardening, including gardening techniques used by Cleopatra, the Japanese, the Pueblo Indians, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and many others.This book teaches both simple and advanced techniques to garden with more awareness and effectiveness, using your inner senses. Learn to design an elegant, edible, sustainable landscape, plant for nutrition and beauty, grow healing herbs and aphrodisiacs, work with earth energies and color, extract flower essences, and much more.Melinda Joy Miller is a feng shui master, cultural anthropologist, medicine woman, and Keeper of the Medicine Wheel of Peace teachings of the Senecas. She has been practicing and teaching permaculture techniques and shamanic healing for over thirty years.

No other gardening book better illustrates the vast cultural history and modern practicality of sustainability and permaculture.