You are Nature.
You belong here.
A place where gardening and nature meet spirituality, and bring calm to your life.
Soil to Soul
We are a community of gardeners, healers and therapists here to guide you towards regular and responsible gardening and nature connection. It is a vital part of a healthy life. The sights and sounds of nature have important physiological impacts. Plants give off chemicals called Phytoncides – that the circulatory system responds to by decreasing blood pressure and pulse rate, dial down our levels of cortisol the stress hormone that can cause anxiety and depression. Watching birds creates awe which in turn creates dopamine that lifts our mood. Soil can behave like pharmaceuticals because it contains millions of micro-organisms one of which when we inhale activates neurons in our brain release to seratonin. Gardening nourishes and soul and the soul nourishes society.
“Each plant has a unique code and energy within it on this planet.”
The first step in connection, in the journey of taking control of feeling more alive, safer and more stable here is to cultivate awareness of the systems around us.
Let’s start at the heart. Three lessons in connection.
-
Connecting to the 72 Seasons
It all begins with awareness. Awareness brings coherence to the heart and whole system. The way gardeners look at nature is in micro-moments. The First Snowdrops Emerge, The Branches are Bare. This system is captured by the beauty of Japanese aesthetics and the deep respect for nature's rhythm.
The 72 micro seasons begin with Risshun meaning the beginning of spring in early February and conclude with Daikan meaning Greater Cold the following January. Following life through the 72 seasons can bring you a warming sense of connection and community. -
The Joy of Connection
We all build defenses—it’s human nature. Life throws its share of hard knocks, and over time, we learn to protect ourselves. But sometimes, what once kept us safe starts keeping us separate. From others. From joy. From ourselves. Animals can help. Research from the HeartMath Institute has shown that horses and humans can synchronize heart rhythms when in close proximity. It’s called heart rate variability (HRV) coherence, and it’s a measurable shift in our nervous system when we move from a state of stress or disconnection to one of balance and ease.
-
Faith in Nature
A report published in Science (April 22, 2016, Vol. 352) made me look at the forests around me in a whole new way. Trees share their wealth through the network of mycorrhizal fungi. They take in an enormous amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which they use to build sugars and other carbohydrates through the process of photosynthesis and they share it. If we learn from the stories and lessons that nature teaches us and build faith in nature in our hearts then we can be more comfortable creatures. Just by having faith we are nature activists. If this is you keep up the work!
Leaning in, here are three sacred plants for you.
-
The Yew a Tree for Life
The Yew is a deeply sacred wisdom keeper of this planet. The tree of the eternal, of renewal and regeneration. In many ancient cultures the Yew is regarded as the ‘God Tree’ - for if untampered with it has the ability to grow for eternity.
The Yew's message for humanity is of embodiment and presence and to ultimately remember who we are and where we came from. And that all healing is possible in the place of the eternal.
-
Mistletoe
Mistletoe is surrounded by more myths and legends than any other herb. Airborne between heaven and earth, the enigma of a skyborne plant has always been a mystery. The Druids, above all others, revered Mistletoe as the holiest of holies. It was deemed especially sacred when it appeared on an Oak tree, the most sacred tree of druidic lore. Mistletoe was their 'Golden Bough', the key to the heavens and to the underworld. Indeed, it was regarded as the creative essence of Thor himself.
-
Vervain
Vervain is considered to be a very protective herb and is is associated with healing, both physical and spiritual. . It is believed to ward off negative energies, curses, and harmful influences. It can be used to create amulets, charms or use to create a protective barrier around a sacred space.
The famous Roman naturalist, Pliny the Elder, describes the magical uses of Vervain in great detail in his book, Natural History.
Our offerings.
-
Forest Bathing.
Experiencing immersive Shinrin-Yoku gifts of sensory meditation and mindfulness will ground you and help you find a deeper purpose in this over-whelming world. Forest bathing brings better health and enables us to experience a calmer, brighter world.
-
Sacred Space for Women.
We hold events for soul-seeking women who are looking for support and creative energy, to lean into ancient healing practices, gardening, and nature for wellbeing. Layered with practical self-development, confidence coaching & neurodivergence support.
-
Plant Connection.
It really is time to lean into your earthly abundant powers of nature connection so you can self-heal and protect your health. Our guest speakers include Charlotte Pulver who has spent 20+ years specialising in women’s healthcare and mental health.
-
Soil to Soul.
We focus on one plant every other month to inspire confidence and creativity in the garden and the kitchen. You’ll learn how to grow it and learn about it’s phytonutrients and antioxidants - why it’s so important to eat - recipes inc. Feat. on BBC Radio Oxford.
-
Zen Mind Meditation.
Weathering Life’s Storms with Compassion. A monthly online meditation exploring how we can learn from plants and how we can extend compassion to humans, animals, and plants, especially during challenging times like harsh weather.
-
Coaching & Retreats.
Bespoke retreats and coaching packages that give you tools to guide you into stability and alignment. This is essential for maintaining a calm body and soul. An understanding of our inner nature is a critical skill for stability and growth.
Plant Connection
& Medicine Making
-
Join us for a one day immersion learning plant spirit connection practises, alchemy and medicine making with Charlotte Pulver.
This is a very special midsummer rose focused Medicine Making Day, working with the abundance of roses here at the Apothecary Garden in discovering its’ incredible nourishing, healing benefits and ways.
This will be a highly informative, transformational and joyous day!
-
This is a deeply restorative, healing and enlivening day learning foundational practises of alchemy and connecting with plants. Time will be spent working with the wonderful Mistletoe plant here at the Apothecary Garden during this tide of Yule, whilst utilising their wonderful lab space in making a mistletoe hydrosol, tincture, tea, essence and anointing oil!
You will take away skills which will greatly enhance your life in many ways.
Events
Join the Inner Circle for Event Invitations.
Weathering Life’s Storms with Compassion
Weathering Life’s Storms with Compassion
Exploring how we can extend compassion to humans, animals, and plants, especially during challenging times.
An online meditation session led by Lara’s friend and colleague Karuna Priya who offers guided compassion meditations for the beautiful community at Botanic Shed.
Weathering Life’s Storms with Compassion
Weathering Life’s Storms with Compassion
Exploring how we can extend compassion to humans, animals, and plants, especially during challenging times like harsh weather.
An online meditation session led by Lara’s friend and colleague Karuna Priya who offers guided compassion meditations for the beautiful community at Botanic Shed.
Weathering Life’s Storms with Compassion
Weathering Life’s Storms with Compassion
Exploring how we can extend compassion to humans, animals, and plants, especially during challenging times like harsh weather.
An online meditation session led by Lara’s friend and colleague Karuna Priya who offers guided compassion meditations for the beautiful community at Botanic Shed.
Benefits of gardening and strategies to leverage menopausal and neurodivergent brains
Watch the release of this interview, the first in a series of conversations about how gardening can benefit the brain.
In this episode, Lara our ‘Soil to Soul’ BBC Radio Oxford series creator, Gardener and Designer chats to Sara Louise Ackrill, Neurodivergent Entrepreneur, Autistic Therapist & Founder & CEO of Wired Differently.
We will talk about how women approaching the menopause are less willing and able to keep their masks up and explore how that might be a reason why so many women above 40 are being diagnosed with ADHA and Autism.
Lara will share stories about her week at work running Botanic Shed; what jobs she and the team have been doing, how she experiences the benefits of being in nature, what’s been good and what’s been hard during the week.
Mistletoe Medicine Making Day
Join us for a one day immersion learning plant spirit connection practises, alchemy and medicine making with Charlotte Pulver. This is a very specially focused Medicine Making Day working with the Mistletoe plant in discovering its' incredible healing benefits and ways. This will be a highly informative, transformational and joyous day.
Traditionally in Celtic cultures druid priests would always harvest and make mistletoe medicine on the waxing moon either side of the winter solstice. The 12th Jan is indeed one of those ripe and right days.
BBC Gardener’s World interview with Lara
Episode 12 in the Winter Conversations - Gardening to help with neurodiversity with Lara Cowan
Lara Cowan discusses the transformative power of nature connection and how gardening can be the perfect fit for those who think differently.
Weathering Life’s Storms with Compassion
Weathering Life’s Storms with Compassion
Exploring how we can extend compassion to humans, animals, and plants, especially during challenging times like harsh weather.
An online meditation session led by Lara’s friend and colleague Karuna Priya who offers guided compassion meditations for the beautiful community at Botanic Shed.
Please email hello@botanicshed.com for a zoom link to attend this meeting.
Gardening and nature therapy
The Botanic Shed School of Nature is here to help you self-prescribe yourself time to connect to nature, to look after your general health. Life is challenging and we are here to give you balance & belonging.
This is a regular session for soul-seeking women who are looking for support and creative energy, to lean into ancient healing practices, gardening, and nature for wellbeing.
What to expect during the session:
Guided meditation and breath work
Strategies on how to align with the energy of the moon to empower yourself
Gardening advice this month
Plant connection coaching
A look closely at how to grow and use one seasonal plant
Gardening and nature therapy
The Botanic Shed School of Nature is here to help you self-prescribe yourself time to connect to nature, to look after your general health. Life is challenging and we are here to give you balance & belonging.
This is a regular session for soul-seeking women who are looking for support and creative energy, to lean into ancient healing practices, gardening, and nature for wellbeing.
What to expect during the session:
Guided meditation and breath work
Strategies on how to align with the energy of the moon to empower yourself
Gardening advice this month
Plant connection coaching
A look closely at how to grow and use one seasonal plant
Gardening and nature therapy
The Botanic Shed School of Nature is here to help you self-prescribe yourself time to connect to nature, to look after your general health. Life is challenging and we are here to give u balance & belonging
This is a regular session for soul-seeking women who are looking for support and creative energy, to lean into ancient healing practices, gardening, and nature for wellbeing.
What to expect during the session:
Guided meditation and breath work
Insights into the moon cycle
Strategies on how to align with the energy of the moon to empower yourself
Gardening advice this month
Plant connection coaching
A look closely at how to grow and use one seasonal plant
Gardening and nature therapy
The Botanic Shed School of Nature is here to help you self-prescribe yourself time to connect to nature, to look after your general health. Life is challenging and we are here to give u balance & belonging
This is a regular session for soul-seeking women who are looking for support and creative energy, to lean into ancient healing practices, gardening, and nature for wellbeing.
What to expect during the session:
Guided meditation and breath work
Strategies on how to align with the energy of the moon to empower yourself
Gardening advice this month
Plant connection coaching
A look closely at how to grow and use one seasonal plant
Gardening and nature therapy
The Botanic Shed School of Nature is here to help you self-prescribe yourself time to connect to nature, to look after your general health. Life is challenging and we are here to give you balance & belonging.
This is a regular session for soul-seeking women who are looking for support and creative energy, to lean into ancient healing practices, gardening, and nature for wellbeing.
What to expect during the session:
Guided meditation and breath work
Strategies on how to align with the energy of the moon to empower yourself
Gardening advice this month
Plant connection coaching
A look closely at how to grow and use one seasonal plant
Kitchen Garden Retreat
Meditation, growing plants & cooking simply with Lara Cowan and Louisa Chapman-Andrews of Cook Folk.
Join us for a kitchen garden inspired retreat - part of the Soil To Soul collaboration between Botanic Shed & Cook Folk supported by medical herbalist Alex Laird.
Expect a gong bath, reiki, reflexology, to learn about edible plants, including a mindful gardening lesson, hands on cookery demo and skills to manage trauma and set backs.
Learn Organic Gardening at Ashall Manor, Witney.
Learn how to grow wildlife-friendly food by organic methods with Tim Mitchell at Asthall Crop Share
Join gardeners in a divine sanctuary producing food and flowers by organic methods at Asthall Manor Kitchen Garden, Glos.
You will work alongside Tim while he talks about the wildlife-friendly and people-friendly food growing that is bringing greater biodiversity and more resilient soil to the walled garden at Asthall Manor as part of a community crop share.
Tree & Plant Identification Nature Walk
A tree and plant identification walk lead by a local naturalist here in Snellsmore Common near Newbury. Enjoy the health promoting benefits of a woodland walk and learn about some of the specific features of plants and trees, as a means of identifying them. Snellsmore Common contains a range of habitats including heathland, wet mires and woodland making it home to nationally rare bird species including nightjar, woodlark and tree pipit.
Bookings via Instagram / Eventbrite @botanicshed
Kitchen Garden Retreat
Meditation, growing plants & cooking simply with Lara Cowan and Louisa Chapman-Andrews of Cook Folk.
Join us for a kitchen garden inspired retreat - part of the Soil To Soul collaboration between Botanic Shed & Cook Folk supported by medical herbalist Alex Laird.
Expect a gong bath, reiki, reflexology, to learn about edible plants, including a mindful gardening lesson, hands on cookery demo and skills to manage trauma and set backs.
Learn Organic Gardening
Learn how to grow wildlife-friendly food by organic methods with Tim Mitchell at Asthall Crop Share
Join gardeners in a divine sanctuary producing food and flowers by organic methods at Asthall Manor Kitchen Garden, Glos.
You will work alongside Tim while he talks about the wildlife-friendly and people-friendly food growing that is bringing greater biodiversity and more resilient soil to the walled garden at Asthall Manor as part of a community crop share.
Learn Organic Gardening
Learn how to grow wildlife-friendly food by organic methods with Tim Mitchell at Asthall Crop Share
Join gardeners in a divine sanctuary producing food and flowers by organic methods at Asthall Manor Kitchen Garden, Glos.
You will work alongside Tim while he talks about the wildlife-friendly and people-friendly food growing that is bringing greater biodiversity and more resilient soil to the walled garden at Asthall Manor as part of a community crop share.
Mindfulness & Story Telling
This is a wonderfully relaxing session including a guided mindfulness meditation followed by an inspirational and thought provoking mindset or Dharma story.
It is hosted by Karuna Priya, Buddhist monk of over 15 years, currently teaching mindfulness and meditation at Imperial College London, also Founder of Zen Mind App and Akanista Mindfulness.
Tree Identification Nature Walk
A local tree identification walk lead by a local naturalist here in Hermitage near Newbury. Learn about tree identification, how to tell a oak from a birch in the winter by looking at the shape of its branches and it's buds. Enjoy the health promoting benefits of a woodland walk and learn about some of the specific features of trees in winter, as a means of identifying them. Hermitage woods contain plantations of mixed deciduous and coniferous native and semi-native trees and forestry trees, planted variously in blocks to give us a very wide range of tree species and a wide variety of ground habitats. Walk to the top of the ridge to be inspired by the beech hanger and inspect ancient yews at close quarters. See how to spot the difference between Scots Pines and Bishop Pines from 100 yards away.
Learn Organic Gardening
Learn how to grow wildlife-friendly food by organic methods with Tim Mitchell at Asthall Crop Share
Join gardeners in a divine sanctuary producing food and flowers by organic methods at Asthall Manor Kitchen Garden, Glos.
You will work alongside Tim while he talks about the wildlife-friendly and people-friendly food growing that is bringing greater biodiversity and more resilient soil to the walled garden at Asthall Manor as part of a community crop share.
Royal Florist Interview
Our founder, Lara Cowan talks to Simon Lycett, Celebrity florist, Royal florist, TV & Radio presenter, author, host & judge on Full Bloom, Royal Horticultural Society Ambassador, and all round national treasure.
This year Simon created a monument that was displayed at The Chelsea Flower Show to celebrate or late HRH's Platinum Jubilee. It was a flowerpot reconstruction of Her Majesty’s “iconic silhouette” planted with one of her favourite flowers the Lily of the Valley.
Join us to hear about Simon’s journey into floristry, how he got his first big breaks working in tv and films, about his work with the British Royal family, his design process and his thoughts on the power of botanical beauty and what it can do for our general health.
Guided walk with Jane Owen, garden writer, former FT deputy editor, awarded a gold medal for her Chelsea Flower Show.
Like-minded organizations
-
Resurgence
Resurgence & Ecologist is a trailblazing magazine that offers positive and progressive perspectives on the most pressing issues of our time. Hope-inspiring and informative, it explores environmental and social justice, nature, ecology, food and farming, ethical living, spirituality and the arts.
-
Hawkwood
Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking as a charity, offer a specially curated programme of courses covering leadership, music, arts & crafts, and wellbeing, as well as hosting artistic residencies and events. They aim to encourage people to make a considered difference to today’s society and to our future.
-
Medicine Festival
Asking the question “How can we be the medicine” this community gathering gives all it’s profits to indigenous tribes and works to garner and treasure ancestral, indigenous wisdom to help humans wake up to lessons from the past. It is about the need to protect nature and indigenous ways of life. A deep dive into nature and wellbeing and a positive platform for cultural exchange.
-
The Stop Ecocide Campaign
The Stop Ecocide campaign was founded in 2017 by visionary UK lawyer the late Polly Higgins and environmental activist Jojo Mehta. Our mission is to support the establishment of ecocide as an international crime, in order to forbid and prevent further devastation to life on Earth. We are the only global campaign with this exclusive focus.
Contact us.
Lara Cowan
hello@botanicshed.com
+ 44 7747 600569
“Back in 2004 when my nervous system was spluttering after a catastrophic event, I found Qi gong and quite frankly doing Qi gong outdoors amongst trees and animals is hands down the closest thing to heaven…”