It’s time to rethink your landscaping plans! Your land is more than a space that needs to be landscaped and maintained. Your land is a place that nurtures you comforts you, and provides for your family. 

We invite you to slow down and look at your land through a Holistic Lens.  If you rush your landscaping plans, then you may end up investing into plants and ideas that don’t work, putting them in places they don’t belong, and taking away future opportunities to use your land to the fullest extent. 

This is a Journaling exercise that will bring you one step closer to creating a landscape that is right for your land and life. Get out your pen and paper, and get ready to do some brainstorming.

Part 1: Envision Your Ideal Healthy Lifestyle. Before you start making plans, the first step is to clarify what a healthy lifestyle means to YOU.

• Take five or ten minutes to journal about what the perfect day would look like, and how would your land be supporting you and your family? 

Part 2: Current Land Use Patterns. It’s important to take inventory of the good, the bad, and the unique aspects of your land.

• How are you and your family currently using your yard? 
• In what ways is your land currently  “Life giving”? 
• What qualities, features, plants already exist that you like, and may wish to expand upon?  What is truly unique about your land?
• What qualities and features of your land feel “life draining” and must be addressed? Are there any serious problems or liabilities?

Part 3: Goals Setting and Project Evaluation. The key is to keep you and your family, and your ideal healthy lifestyle at the center of your envisioning process. Your landscaping projects should become fluid around your ideal healthy lifestyle.

• Write three projects or goals that you are considering for your landscape – (i.e. Fruit trees and nut trees, berry and nut bushes, native pollinator garden, vegetable garden, rain garden, greenhouse, chickens or other livestock, etc.) 
• For each of the projects you wish to accomplish, write down the reasons why you want them. How will these new projects support your ideal lifestyle? 
• Will these projects block or hinder other future projects or opportunities? 
• Are you able to dedicate the time and resources needed for these projects to succeed?  

Do you want help transforming your yard through a holistic lens? 

If you enjoyed this exercise then you may be interested in working with Bear Creek Organics to help you bring your Holistic Landscape into reality. Contact Bear Creek Organics at BearCreekOrganics.com or visit facebook.com/BearCreekOrganics.