Garden Mindfulness was something I thought about a lot at this time last year before my Mom passed away. While I was caring for her I would take whatever few minutes I could throughout the day to go outside into the garden and breathe deeply of nature’s beauty, to just be mindful of and present with the wonder and beauty of the world around me.
These quiet moments alone in the garden, of being aware of the present moment, of expressing thanks and gratitude, of observation became my soul connection to the earth. And I’m so grateful I got to share them with my mom.
And now as I reflect on this Thanksgiving season without her, I am grateful all over again that I had the opportunity to share those moments with my Mom while I was caring for her physical needs and being with her for all of that time.
I am grateful every day for the warmth of the sun on my face, the kiss of the breeze against my cheek, the cheerful sounds of the birds calling, the beauty of the butterflies who swirl in the air, and so many beautiful flowers that provide sustenance for my beloved wildlife garden critters.
I’m also filled with gratitude for my friends and family, as well as my two amazing teams of writers who work so hard every day to bring you the best of Beautiful Wildlife Gardens as well as Team Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens.
With Gratitude to the Amazing Efforts of Team Beautiful Wildlife Garden:
I feel incredibly blessed by this amazing team who teaches me something new every day. Their knowledge of the natural world and passion for creating welcoming habitats for wildlife in our gardens is unequalled anywhere.
Please take the time to check out all of their personal blogs, Facebook pages, and follow them on Twitter. You’ll be thankful you did 
Donna Donabella
Donna Donabella is a self taught gardener who has gardened in central NY State for 25 years. Although her day job has been in public education for 27 years, her passion lies in all types of gardening. Donna’s journey through life has been enriched and influenced by her gardening experiences which she shares on her blog Garden’s Eye View. Donna has recently started her own garden design business, Purple Door Garden Designs.
See Donna Donabella’s articles
Ellen Honeycutt
“I am a passionate native plant gardener near Atlanta, GA who is learning to appreciate more every day the relationship that plants have with our native fauna. I created a personal blog, Using Georgia Native Plants, to help increase the level of regional native plant information available to average gardeners. I try to emphasize the beauty and versatility of native plants as landscape choices as well as the value to the local ecosystem.”
See Ellen Honeycutt’s articles
Ellen Sousa
Ellen Sousa is the author of The Green Garden: A New England Guide to Planting and Maintaining the Eco-Friendly Habitat Garden.
Ellen Sousa gardens, farms, writes and teaches from Turkey Hill Brook Farm, a small horse farm in the Worcester Hills of central Massachusetts, specializing in habitat landscaping, earth-friendly gardening and gardening with northeast US native plants. Ellen also writes for the team at Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens
Jesse Elwert Peters
Jesse Elwert will be joining Team Beautiful Wildlife Garden early next month.
Jesse Elwert is an ecologist with a passion for organic gardening. Jessecology is an ecological garden design and maintenance business. We can help you create urban or rural habitat spaces, to attract songbirds or butterflies. Like the Jessecology Organic Gardening Assistance Facebook page, and follow @jessecology on Twitter
Judy Burris
Judy Burris and her brother Wayne Richards are authors, photographers and naturalists. Their gardens focus on host plants to support native butterflies and other insects and critters in every stage of their development. Judy and Wayne live just 3 miles apart from each other in northern Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati. Their co-authored books include: The Life Cycles of Butterflies, The Secret Lives of Backyard Bugs, and also Nature’s Notes. Their website is Butterfly Nature
Karyl Seppala
Karyl Seppalla gardens for wildlife in northern Georgia. Her focus is wildlife gardening, biodiversity and native plants which is truly a labor of love. She writes about her adventures at Native Plant Wildlife Gardening, and you can find her on twitter. She says “…and oh, I’m kind of a dork and get really excited about things like baby turtles. Bear with me on that please.”
Kathy Green
Kathy Green is a Garden Designer and Coach in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. She is also the Owner and Artisan of Dragonfly Dew where she creates all natural products for your face, body and bath. Follow Kathy on twitter@gardenfornature and find her Gardening for Nature on Facebook at GardeningForNature.
Kathy Vilim
“Lifelong lover of nature.. I enjoy writing about what I see around me & photographing it. I garden in Southern California where I have lived many years and have enjoyed all of them. Happy to share tips on native gardening and lessons learned, as well as critters met. Follow @nativegardener on twitter“
Loret T. Setters
Loret is an active member of The Florida Native Plant Society. She writes about wildlife happenings in her native plant garden on a rural acre in Central Florida at the Osceola FL Garden Blah Blah Blog, and is part of the team at Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens. Follow @PineLilyFNPS for daily updates on conservation and native plants.
Read Loret T. Setters’ articles
Ursula Vernon
Ursula Vernon is a recent Hugo Award winner for her young adult graphic novel series Digger. Ursula Vernon is the author and illustrator of “Nurk,” “Digger,” “Dragonbreath” and a number of other projects. The daughter of an artist, she spent her youth attempting to rebel and become a scientist, but eventually succumbed to the siren song of paint. Ursula Vernon lives in North Carolina where she gardens for wildlife with her cats, her boyfriend, and a beagle, and is still astonished when anything comes back at all in the spring. Ursula Vernon is also part of the team at Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens.
Follow Team Beautiful Wildlife Garden
You can find us here:
Beautiful Wildlife Garden on Facebook
Beautiful Wildlife Garden on Twitter
And I’m so Thankful for YOU!
I’m also so grateful to each and every one of you. You have been so supportive, leaving thoughtful comments on our posts, sharing articles on Facebook and Twitter, and so much more. Your encouragement helps us to keep sharing with you, and we’re thankful for all of you!
Have a Wonderful and Happy Thanksgiving!!
Carole Sevilla Brown lives in Philadelphia, PA, and she travels the country speaking about Ecosystem Gardening for Wildlife. Check out her new free online course Ecosystem Gardening Essentials, 15 free lessons delivered to your inbox every week.
© 2012, Carole Sevilla Brown. All rights reserved. This article is the property of BeautifulWildlifeGarden.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Carole Sevilla Brown
Thanks Carole! It is rewarding to be a part of what you have created to make for a better world. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We all have a lot to be thankful for!
Loret T. Setters recently posted..Army Lives!
Loret I’m so thankful that you have been a part of this journey almost from the beginning! You inspire me constantly to look closer, to see the tiniest of critters and get to know more about them. Thank you!
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Wildlife Gardeners Spin the Cycle of Life
Thank you Carole! I’m so thankful to have such wonderful nature-loving friends! We are all helping to make the world a better place.
Judy, long ago you touched me deeply with your book Life Cycles of Butterflies, and I’m so thrilled to now welcome you as part of this team.
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..The 5 Pillars of Ecosystem Gardening
Carole I hope your holiday was wonderful…
Thanks Donna. It was a little sad, but to see my great nephew celebrating his first birthday and walking all over the house made it wonderful.
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Ecosystem Gardening Essentials