Creating Magical Spaces
My backyard is on the large side and, over the last few years, it has developed into a large mess. Large yards = large amount of dedicated time, and I simply did not have it. Nor did my husband. My roses are overgrown because I put off trimming them — a volunteer “bush” had worked its way into the rose area and entwined itself, making the pruning more complicated and thus, less pleasant a task. My grass has tons of weeds in it, ever since the chickens frolicked in the muddy grass, tearing out the grass itself, inviting weeds into the bare spots. My vegetable garden has many weedy guests, and there are many corners of the yard that have become repositories for the detritus from other projects: broken up concrete, piles of rock, trimmings from trees…you know what I’m talking about.
Ten years ago, Dave and I worked together with pool builders and a few contractors to totally transform my yard for our upcoming wedding, and it looked stunning, but ten busy years since have left some areas ugly and overgrown. We don’t have time to fix it all, but are slowly trying to return our yard to its wedding-year grandeur, one project at a time.
Over the past six months, however, I have been working to create special spaces within that mess. Dave is great at envisioning the big spaces — the hardscape especially — I am more the intimate spaces envisioner.
So while we wait to find the time, resources and specialists to complete bigger projects, I occupy myself with creating smaller, soulful, magical spaces.
We all need these spaces, inside our homes and out, to go to for comfort, inspiration and solitude. At the very least, visual stimulation. Magical spaces are personal, soul-satisfying spots and are a delight to create and maintain. Currently, I have three special spots. One is only partially completed, but is getting there.
The Fairy Garden
Years ago, Dave took a castoff shelf with drawers from a lab he had worked in and turned it into an elevated garden. The drawers were great for storing garden tools and he converted the top of the shelf, adding a planter box. Over time, it has become a bit delapidated from sun and rain, but I still love it. Over time, though, it had also gotten ignored. From my kitchen window, it is the most prominent visual, and I would catch sight of the unkempt spot and feel a bit dismayed. It cried out “one more thing to do,” and since it would be a fairly small project, late last spring, I set out to improve it.
I cleaned up the bottom shelving (every castoff planter, bags of potting soil and containers of gasoline in case of the zombie apocalypse or nuclear holocaust) and then removed every remnant of wild plant from the soil. I amended it, and then planted seeds — butterfly mix and zinnias — and some seeds we had saved but I couldn’t remember what they were. I made a concerted effort to water twice a day (in So Cal, this is am unfortunate necessity) and once they came up and I saw what was going to last, I was able to add some other plants — a Thai chile I had started from seed and a basil plant from Home Depot. Later, I found spots for a couple of gourd plants.
What ended up making the space special was a fairy ball. I had recently inherited some yard goodies from my mother and step-father, both of whom passed away in May. One of those things is a stake with clear glass ball housing little “fairy lights.” The little garden was nice, but absolutely perfect when I added the fairy ball. I now call it just the fairy garden, and it impresses with its flowers by day and its magical lights by night. It now takes little tending. I just water once a day, pull the weedy grasses while I do, watch the butterflies, and think of my mom.
THe Meditation Area
Another special space is yet under construction. A couple years back I decided I wanted to move our chicken coop away from the house to create a meditation space. It is not that I meditate that much, although I have been trying off and on to make that practice a regular part of my life, but I figured if I created the space, the practice would follow. I imagined a little zen garden, a bench, some short grasses, and aesthetically arranged rocks. Anything would be an improvement over the view of a chicken coop, a wooden gate and an old dusty blanket draped over the coop for wind protection. It was a ghastly view from my bedroom window.
Once Dave and my brother-in-law Peter moved the coop and removed the gate, I planned my attack, starting with a short retaining wall. Peter took over the wall project, and about a week later, when I arrived home from school, the whole surface, formerly dirt and rocks, had been leveled and set with pavers — a project commissioned by my sweet husband as a surprise. It was a bit different than I had envisioned, but I loved it at once and started to plan what I would grow on my slope and how I would “decorate” it. It is near the fence looking out to the side yard, which houses unsightly woodpiles and some garden equipment, so I blocked that with some bamboo fencing and it is becoming more intimate. It will become lovely, and I will share the progress. For now, here it is:
THE PUMPKIN GARDEN
My last outdoor special space is a large one, lovingly tended every day, and that’s my pumpkin garden. I have a pumpkin fetish, and although there is nothing really special about the pumpkin garden except the pumpkins, the pumpkins are everything, and I love to hang out there, watering and directing the vines away from the lawn. One day untended, or even just a day of being at school, and the whole space changes. At a certain point in their development, pumpkins grow like nobody’s business, and in July or August, depending on when I planted seeds, there is an amazing growth-spurt. Each day, I can count a new one, emerging yellowish from amidst the green leaves. Once they start to “orange,” a single pumpkin can triple in size in a week. One day soon I’ll write about my love of pumpkins, but for now, I just ponder on this meaningful space.
CREATING SPECIAL SPACES
- Start simple. Start with spaces that might already be special, or in a special area that is being wasted or is not optimally beautiful so that you want to use it each day. I have a little sitting nook in my bedroom that had always been a cool space, but it wasn’t that visually pleasing to me. About a year ago, I transformed it. I wish I had taken a “before” photo, but I only have the “after.” You might start with something you look at every day, like a bedside table. Ask yourself whether or not that space calls to you, welcomes you, feels stress-free. If not, it’s an easy fix. Remove everything from that small space and ask what you really need. For me, it would be a couple of books, a plant, place for water, and a meaningful object. Everything else needs to go.
- Include a meaningful object or two as a focal point. One object is enough, like with my fairy ball in the garden. If you choose two, I find it looks best if they are not the same size. Natural objects are especially soothing, like a twisted piece of drift wood, as are photos of a memorable trip or special person, or a religious object, such as a cross. I once had several photos on my nightstand, but was constantly knocking them over, and that was definitely not peaceful.
- Create empty space. In Yearbook design, we call the space where nothing is white space. White space is beautiful and helps define what you choose to display. On my bedside table, I have created a mostly open space with just a plant, a stack of books, and a beautiful shell I found when traveling in Cozumel. Just one shell. I like multiple books for a couple of reasons. First, I like the look of the stack, with bindings revealing their titles. I like to have a simple spiritual book to remind me of that part of my life. Currently, I have Thich Nhat Hanh’s Living Buddha, Living Christ, along with the book I am currently reading — Where the Crawdads Sing — and a few more books I will hope to read soon. The ones-to-be bring me joy — to know that I will have another fictional adventure in days to come is a promise to myself.
- No technology. Special spaces should be free of distractions. I sometimes take a phone into a special place if I want music; I envision once my meditation garden is done, I may play some guided meditation with music to help me focus. Of course, there are always rock speakers…
- Include a place to sit or be while there. My meditation space, although I have not yet meditated in it, has a bench. My bedside table has, of course, a bed. My bedroom nook has a reading chair.
- A plant. A plant makes any space special. If there are multiple plants, have plants of various sizes for balanced “design.”
- Eliminate clutter in the space. Too much is distracting, even if you believe all the elements in the space are lovely or meaningful. This is often the case for bedside tables. Change the details up now and then – rotate special objects and put the others away. They will be more special when they have been missing for awhile. This is currently our problem on our back porch. We cannot bear to get rid of some furniture, though there is clearly too much. There is no focal point and the space is busy and cluttered. As that space undergoes transformation in the near future, I will be featuring the change.
Find a special space. Make it a special space. For yourself, as a gift of peace of mind and soulful journeying.