Turning a Weed Patch into a Garden

A friend moved into a new apartment with a weed patch for a front yard. She asked the landlord's permission to turn the front yard into a garden. Now she's looking for a rototiller to borrow.

I do not have a rototiller. I love my turning fork, but a weed patch might prove to be a wrestling match for a turning fork.

If she has patience (and for a gardener in April, patience can feel like holding a team of wild horses),

1. cover the area with black plastic this summer OR
2. use the lasagna method and layer on whatever you have--newspaper, cardboard, dead leaves, manure if you can get it, compost, old wood chips, mulch hay OR
3. combine #2 and #1. Do the lasagna method and then cover it with black plastic. Or an old carpet (preferably wool).

When we want to turn the weed patch of our busy minds into a garden that gives us happiness and contentment, we can begin by allowing our bodies to rest in meditation. This requires some patience because our weedy minds have a lot of seeds that suddenly sprout up.

We may try to turn over a new leaf, beginning right now, but we actually do not have that sort of control over our minds.

Mulch your mind with meditation, practice patience, and a year from now you will have a garden of happiness.