5 Mindful Practices to Try in Your Garden in 2026
Based in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, the team at Nectar Landscape designs gardens as sensory experiences—engaging the senses, slowing us down, and reconnecting us with nature through environments that invite calm in the present moment.
Photo by Naohmi Monroe
This season, slow down with smaller, soulful rituals that help you reconnect with your land, your body, and your breath. We asked the team at Nectar Landscape Design to share five calming, approachable ways to bring intention into the garden without the overwhelm.
- Begin with a sip of morning light: Bundle up if needed, and try taking your coffee or tea outside—even if it’s just for a few minutes. Notice the changing light, the bird calls, the rhythm of a waking garden.
- Look up from below: Lie down on a blanket or chaise and observe the trees overhead. Let branches and sky become your ceiling.
- Reconnect under the stars: Make time to sit outside at night. Breathe. Look up. Let the vastness of the sky shift your perspective.
- Sketch something growing: Pick a plant. Observe it closely. Try drawing its leaves or structure, not for perfection but rather for presence.
- Visit a nursery with no agenda: Wander a favorite local nursery with no intention to buy—just to observe, touch, and dream.
