If you raised your hand to say “yes” that you are well, please contact us and share your wellness pro tips. The rest of us may find ourselves frequently in our feels—and not in a good way.
We all know wellness is important and don’t need the “experts” to tell us that. Though per McKinsey, 82% of U.S. consumers count wellness as a top or important priority in their everyday lives.
We live in an age when a nice run of wellness seems elusive. Especially in the post-pandemic (except we’re still getting COVID), global conflict-rising, job loss-suffering (including yours truly), tariff-raising, presidential decision-making, stock market-swinging days of today.
Sure you can find wellness in many places. Like a 90-minute Herbal Alchemy Ritual at Keswick Hall ($330, plus upgrades). Or a 45-minute Swedish massage for couples in the salt cave at Williamsburg Salt Spa ($300). Or even a four-day comprehensive wellness retreat—hiking, yoga, food, wine—at The Farmhouse at Veritas in Afton ($2,250 for two).
Wellness is Right Out There
But feeling better may be right out your door. Feel better, be better, find sanctuary in your own wellness garden.
We’ve known of the link between gardening and well-being for millennia. Cicero said in the first century B.C. that if you have a garden and a library, you’ll want for nothing. Plato loved to teach and think in an Athenian olive grove. Claude Monet restored his depressed mind in a garden, then painted it.
A recent scholarly umbrella review of 40 studies found an overall positive effect of gardening activities on mental well-being, quality of life and health status.
A Wellness Garden is…What Exactly?
For wellness garden expertise and inspiration, I turned to Deena Class, Ph.D. She’s a former colleague of mine and the founder of Word & Plant, LLC (wordandplant.com). She blends sustainable agriculture and horticulture, therapeutic horticulture and community- rooted education to help people reconnect with the land—and themselves.
Essentially, Class believes plants can heal, teach and inspire. And we all say, “Amen!”
She says before thinking about plants or design, think about what “wellness” means to you.
“It’s one of those words we throw around like everyone’s speaking the same language (what we geeky social scientists sometimes call a Global or Universal Concept),” Class wrote to me in an email. “But really, it’s like an impressionistic painting—from far away, we all nod and say, ‘Yes, wellness, mmm hmmm.’ But up close, it’s a blur of brushstrokes. The shapes, colors and textures that make up your wellness painting are deeply personal. Step one is getting introspective about what those are.”
A wellness garden should reflect and support your version of wellness, she said. Here’s how Class says that might look:
- A tucked-away corner to exhale and be still—because sometimes wellness looks like silence, softness and space to feel what you’re feeling.
- Beds overflowing with herbs and veggies that nourish from soil to spoon—if tending, harvesting and feeding yourself feels like a return to wholeness.
- Colors, textures and movement that light up your senses—if joy, creativity and a sense of wonder are essential parts of your healing.
- Native plantings that hold beauty without needing to be tamed—if your nervous system is asking for ease, and your time and energy need protecting.
- Ground covers that do the work for you—if your well-being is drained by tasks like weeding and constant watering, and you’d rather spend your time enjoying than managing.
“In short: a wellness garden isn’t about mimicking magazine spreads or trendy hashtags,” she said. “It’s about identifying what brings you into balance—emotionally, mentally, physically—and designing your garden from that place.”
Starting a Wellness Garden
Ready for your own wellness garden? Here’s the advice from Class on how to start one: “Don’t try to recreate someone else’s version of the ‘perfect’ garden,” she said. “This isn’t a paint-by-numbers project—it’s more like a vision board: personal, intuitive and values-driven.”
She said that instead of asking why a garden space you’ve seen speaks to you (which often invites answers about your own personality or history—things that can feel abstract or out of reach), ask: What is it about that space that resonates with me? What qualities are present that I want more of in my life?
That shift puts your focus on what you can influence, she said. Those things you can influence include the atmosphere, the structure and the style. That’s where meaningful design begins.
Class has several prompts to guide your reflection:
- What is it about that inviting patio that draws me in? Is it the abundance of seating that signals welcome and togetherness? The way it seems made for lingering conversations and shared meals?
- What is it about that quiet, shaded nook that feels comforting? Is it the sense of enclosure and seclusion—a place where overstimulation melts away and your thoughts can settle?
- What is it about that wild, rambling garden that speaks to me?
- Is it the way it allows for spontaneity, self-seeding surprises and a gentle loosening of control?
- What is it about that structured, minimalist landscape that resonates? Is it the clarity and simplicity—the sense of order that brings calm in contrast to a busy, noisy world?
Tending, Weeding and Such
She said to also consider the kind of tending that feels good to you. If you love working with your hands, plant that patch of cut flowers you’ll deadhead with joy.
If you hate weeding but love lushness and beauty, think about planting a living mulch—low-growing ground covers that fill in the gaps, support pollinators and soften the space with texture and color.
Whether you’re drawn to edible herbs, native wildflowers or something purely ornamental, there are plant choices for every need and every style, Class said.
“Some seasons will be lush with blooms and harvests,” she said. “Others will be slower, quieter—times when just being in the garden is the medicine. There’s no hierarchy. Every season brings its own kind of tending.”
Be well, my friends. Happy wellness gardening!
