Harvesting
September 3, 2025
Full Circle
September 17, 2025
At the end of the season taking time to close the garden gives room for rest and future growth. Every garden and project comes to an end as a portion of your liminal journey finds its conclusion. After the joy of harvest, it is time to close the garden and allow both soil and soul to rest. It can be tricky to figure out when to call the garden or the project done. The work is both physical and contemplative.
You physically clear out the garden beds, clean tools, and put away whatever is no longer needed. Mentally, you review the journey from germination to now. While closing out a stage in life you may experience a mix of emotions. Clearing out the physical space gives room for rest and future growth. Acknowledging the end of this stage in your liminal journey frees you to rest and recharge.
Timing is Tricky
After months of caring for plants, deciding when to cut them down is not easy. Too soon, and you miss a few more blooms. Too late, and the cold makes the work harder. If you simply walk away, your future self will be dealing with heaps of mushy leaves and rusted tools. When to end a project or to move on from a stage of life is not always clear. There is no perfect time for all people and projects.
It is your garden, your project; pick the time that best fits your needs. If you are ready to move on, close up the garden as soon as the main crop is in, clean your tools and put them away. If you have the time and inclination to linger, you can do bits and pieces of it over a few weeks. At some point it is helpful to declare this stage of your liminal journey done so that you have a clear ending giving space for you to move on when you are ready.
The Work is Physical & Contemplative
As you physically clear out the garden you will be reminded of all the stages you have been through to get to this point. Pulling up stalks and placing them in the compost is a grounding act. It can be hard to let go of what was once the centerpiece of your garden. Processing your loss becomes nourishment for the future. Endings are part of the liminal journey.
Gather your notes, observations, and connections. Reflect on what worked and what didn’t. Even the scraps of failure, when composted, become fertile ground for new growth. Cleaning up and storing your tools, files, or photos allows you to have your space ready for the next garden or project you want to explore. Empty space and organized tools allow you to make decisions about what you want in your life.
Mixed Emotions
Closing your garden can feel bittersweet. Endings often bring “double dip” feelings, positive and negative emotions attached to the same event. You may be delighted and disappointed, sad to see the end and impatient to move on. There is no right way to feel about the process of closing up the garden.
Acknowledging your feelings is part of the process. Change can be both hard and exciting. Your thoughts and emotions about this journey you have been on is part of your harvest. Letting them surface and be considered, while you get the physical tasks done, is an opportunity to integrate this experience into your life wisdom.
Rest
Closing the garden allows the soil to rest and replenish itself over the winter months. You no longer need to tend or harvest; you have space in your schedule to rest and replenish yourself. Taking the time to pause between projects creates time to breathe after a busy season of tending and harvesting. You may not realize how tired you are until you stop moving. When everything is cleared out and put away, sit down. It is ok to create space between what you just did and what you will do next. It is ok to rest at the end of a journey, to pause to appreciate where you are now.
When you take the time to close a garden or project, you create a clean space in your life. It can be tricky to decide when it is time to call it quits, only you can decide that this is the right time for you. Doing the physical work of clearing out a garden or other project gives time to think about the process you have worked through from germination to now. You will likely feel a range of emotions which is a part of the process. At the end allow for rest, for you, and for the soil. You build resilience by consolidating what you’ve learned as you clean up and contemplate the end of this liminal journey.
Peace,
Laura
As you move through liminal times in your life it can be helpful to have a listening ear to process your thoughts and feelings. Laura works one-on-one with people who are seeking to build resilience and to thrive. You can schedule a free zoom conversation to chat with Laura about coaching.
