Has Anyone Grown a Labyrinth or Medicine Wheel Garden?

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Permalink Reply by Deborah Poppell on November 20, 2008 at 2:33pm

How intriguing, I Am very interested in growing a medicine wheel garden. Is is a medicine herb garden? Now is the perfect time to start planning it. I just started a herbal ecourse from the herbmentor website.so I Am sure there is loads to learn about using the herbs I will be growing come spring.

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Permalink Reply by Katherine Turcotte on November 20, 2008 at 3:21pm

Hi Deborah - John Gallagher has a wonderful website on herbmentor.com - very informative! Yes, a Medicine Wheel garden is an herb garden - you should see if you can find a cheap copy of the book on amazon.com that is where I get most of my books.
I forget where I read about the labyrinth garden......
I am excited because I am going to take the Master Gardener course here in our county starting in Janauary! I want to absorb so much knowledge about things!

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Permalink Reply by Michelle W. Flannery on November 20, 2008 at 2:39pm

My friend on this website, Beva (look for the id pic of a green tree covered in snow) , lives in Maine and she has a Medicine Wheel Garden. She uses it regularly. You'd have to follow the threads of her conversations with all of us to find where she mentions it, or just leave a comment asking her about it. I know she'd love to tell you everything she knows about Medicine Wheel gardens! She is very active in the culture of NE US Native Americans.

I've been wanting to have a labyrinth for years now, and I'm getting closer to actually doing it. I've gone back and forth between a flat open walkway and a planted garden labyrinth, and I've been studying patterns. For me, right now, it's having the time to do it. So much else going on!

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Permalink Reply by Katherine Turcotte on November 20, 2008 at 3:21pm

Hi Michelle -I know what you mean about having the time - days fly by don't they. I like the concept of both of these gardens - I think I did research online about the labyrinth garden and found some pretty interesting patterns that would be good with herb plants and a brick pathway winding around. I will look on your friend's website too!
I love in midwinter when all the seed catalogs start arriving. I can't wait to get a greenhouse - I really need to focus my energy on positive things that are calming to my soul.

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Permalink Reply by Beva on November 20, 2008 at 9:37pm

Hi, Katherine,
Michelle mentioned this to me. Actually, what I have on my property is a Medicine Wheel built of stones. There are plants associated with each stone. And a Medicine Wheel can be constructed strictly out of plants or even trees. It depends on what your purpose is. Another book that offers good guidance on building such a garden is "Dancing With The Wheel" by Sun Bear. Typically, a Medicine Wheel is used for some type of ceremony, healing, or place for personal meditation or prayer.

I have also been involved with a stone labyrinth and it too is a wonderful place for meditation. I think there are endless possibilities for construction of such a space. One could work with colors or plants of different height or texture to form an effect creating peace and tranquility. Herbs are a wonderful possibility as they typically remain a vibrant plant through out the season.

I have established a space that I call my "Peace Garden". It is a whimsical area that I also included as a resting place for my pets. There are benches on which one can sit and read or play a flute, and I have stones that add form and interest for the mind to discover and ponder. This garden is made up of native plants. I reserve it as a place where nature is encouraged to bloom in her own way. I enjoy it very much!

If I can be of any help, I would be glad to offer what I can.
:)
Beva

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