A Garden Scavenger Hunt

Last spring I worked really hard getting the gardens around my house in some manageable state.  This year you would never have guessed.  The gardens this spring are lush and thick with flowers that belong and others that have come to join the party!   I don't know how this happens, but every year I am more accepting of the things happening in my garden.

I got this brilliant idea last year and decided to finish the concept this year!  I think it is done and I couldn't wait to share it with someone!  I have kept with me over the years things I LOVE in an album, photos, articles, and this one list just kept coming to mind.  It is copied from a book that belonged to a friend, the book was called, Cultivating Sacred Space, by Elizabeth Murray.  She wrote that gardens have certain elements to create a relationship to a sacred idea.  So I devised a Garden Scavenger list for my grandchildren or anyone else that wants to play and search for things in my gardens.  The list will probably grow and change as the gardens grow and change.  Listed below is a few of the things you could find in my gardens and some of the sacred ideas behind the objects.

Arch - the arch is a representation of the rainbow.  It stretches from earth to heaven and back again,
           symbolizing the integration of power and love.

Gate -  a symbol of transcendence, it marks the departure from one world to the next.  What kind of gate do you think this one is?  Sanctity/privacy?  Does it open a new world for you to discover?  Does it serve as the threshold to the Fairy Garden?

Twinkling mirrors and pretty beads -  they hang from the archway, dancing with light in the breezes.   (these were added after the photo)

Bells and chimes -  throughout the gardens, invited to ring by the wind.  They symbolize the awakening to the life dreams, prayers and visions. 

Fairies - although the ones you might see are made of metal, they remind you to step gently, for
             fairies dance and play among the flowers and may be hiding while you are on your quest.

Ladybug tea party -  the ladybugs are having a tea party in the fairy garden.  Can you find the tea set
              near the blooming coral bells blooming in the spring.

Quote on a stone -  what does it say?

Winged Angel  -  he hides in the boxwood, he watches you as you walk the path around him.  (you can walk the garden paths in the winter too!)

Paths  -  they serve as a "metaphor of our process and our pace".  Slow down, enjoy life, look at the flowers, spend time in "your garden."

Glass Bulbs - are colorful, bringing pretty light to the garden, how many can you find and what colors

               are they?

Bamboo - although it bends in the wind, it doesn't break, serving as a reminder to endure and overcome

               adversity.  In my garden the bamboo holds pretty bottles in the fairy garden.  How many
               did you find and what colors are the bottles.

Fountains and water features - flowing with prosperity and abundance of life energy, water elements
               change the feel of the garden.  

Those are a few of the things listed, I also have Goldfish to count, Birdhouses to find, Garden flags, Tree faces, a toad house, swings, elephant ears (in the summertime), naming the cats and dogs and whatever else I can think of to cause one to walk through my gardens.  Do you think it will keep the grand-kids busy for a little while?


Photos come from 2009 spring and winter.