The ritual of magical gardening or how to make your own connection to the earth-no matter where you live requires both free thought and a little planning.

When focusing your energies on working with plants and soil, you are pouring both your physical as well as spiritual self into the garden space. If you are just beginning to start your magical gardening journey, remember that there can be just as much energy in a small windowsill group as in a formal, finished garden area.

Here in Montana, it is deep in winter. We do not have much snow this year but the gardens, all tucked in under thick mulch, still need planning and tending to-if only on paper. Winter is the time to not only lay out your garden ideas but to think of what the overall theme or energy you want to create is going to be. Are you making a healing garden with for example: Peppermint, Garlic, Rosemary, Sage? How about a garden of Protection with Catnip, Lavender, Mugwort and Rue? A Meditation garden would be useful for anyone. Something as simple as a few fragrant herbs such as Chamomile, Yarrow and Lemon Balm set pleasingly around a comfortable chair could be just the perfect refuge.

Once you decide what the theme of your garden will be, now is a good time to think of adding special items to enhance the feeling and strength of purpose to your garden. A simple way to to do this would be to paint or draw complimentary runes on small pebbles and place in a pot of a windowsill garden or do the same on larger stones and place in your newfound sacred space outside. Even if you haven't started gardening a particular area, winter would be the perfect time to set out some items that represent the enchantment you are preparing to bring.

A small container garden of protection on either side of the front steps of your home to repel negative energy is a simple place to start gardening. Including children in both the planting ritual and painting specific runes on rocks helps to focus the entire family's energy and strengthens the desired spell.

A garden is a wonderful way to visualize the sacredness and magic in all things. Honor the Goddess and include a statue or some representation of your deity. Every time you walk by and see your gardens you are reminded of the meaning behind them and that is the essence of creating magic.