Inner Gardening: Four Seasons of Cultivating the Soil and the Spirit

Cultivation of the soil meets cultivation of the soul in this refreshing approach to personal growth by the author of "The Tao of Inner Peace. By combining practical gardening advice, personal narrative, and lessons in spiritual practice, Diane Dreher offers anyone who wants a more serene, balanced life a nurturing volume of the gentle, perceptive self-help that has endeared her books to thousands.

"Inner Gardening was written for the gardener in all of us and unites inspiration with gardening advice and wisdom, insights from medieval and Renaissance poets and philosophers, as well as the author's own gardening experiences.

Divided into four seasons, the book takes readers on a journey of renewal throughout the year. New gardeners will find a monthly set of gardening tasks, including useful information about soil, mulching, composting, planning, pest control, and plant care. More experienced gardeners will gain new knowledge of garden history and learn how seasonal cycles and garden tasks echo centuries of tradition. Each chapter then segues into "Gardening as Spiritual Practice, " offering personal exercises for self-cultivation: planting seeds of ideas and dreams, weeding out bad habits and unfulfilling tasks, designing new challenges one step at a time, and more.

Brimming with life-enhancing strategies for garden and gardener alike, "Inner Gardening affirms what everyone who has ever planted a seed and watched it grow knows: what we cultivate around us, we also cultivate within.

In this enchanting volume, the author of "The Tao of Inner Peace" takes gardeners of all levels on a journey of self-renewal throughout the year. Complementing the earthy gardening techniques are "Gardening as a Spiritual Practice" sections that provide exercises for self-cultivation. 1 map.

Diane Dreher, Ph.D., is the author of The Tao of Inner Peace, The Tao of Womanhood, and The Tao of Personal Leadership. She holds a Ph.D. in English from UCLA, with credentials in spiritual counseling and holistic health. Diane leads workshops on balance and personal growth nationwide. She teaches Renaissance literature and creative writing at Santa Clara University and cultivates her garden at home in the San Francisco Bay Area.