In the heart of Salt Lake City, bordering the Jordan River, near 9th west and 10th south, there’s an amazing place called The International Peace Garden. It’s one of only two peace gardens in the United States. It was founded in 1939 by Mrs. Otto Wiesley, Citizen Chair of the Salt Lake Council of Women, as a lesson in peace and understanding between nations. When you visit, you’ll see several gardens devoted to different countries. Each participating nation group has a section to beautify at their expense, and it’s maintained by the Salt Lake City Parks Division. It’s truly a unique place.
You can imagine the challenges each nation group faces as they work to develop a garden that will both represent their country and thrive here in Utah’s Great Basin. Inevitably, it’s an exercise in compromise. Remarkably, as you walk the grounds, you can feel the difference from one garden to the next. You get a small taste of the culture and energy of the country being depicted by each garden. It’s both calming and invigorating.
You can have a similar experience in your own yard by creating your personal peace garden—a place that represents you. Your personal peace garden can be filled with plants that have a significant meaning for you and bring you joy—colors, textures, and aromas that lift your spirits. You may choose to devote a portion of your garden to your family, your heritage, or something else that defines or uplifts you.
It has been believed for centuries that certain colors, aromas, and sounds can strengthen and support the energy within you. Ancient Eastern philosophy calls this energy chakra. The belief is that anywhere from 5 to 7 spinning discs of energy exist within each of us in certain locations along our spine, and that we can strengthen those energy sources through interacting with and focusing on certain elements in nature. Countless people around the world have found that being in the natural world strengthens their chakra. With this in mind, you may choose to plant a chakra garden in your backyard—a place loaded with colors, aromas, and sounds to lighten and enliven your heart and mind.
There is also a growing body of evidence in Western medicine indicating that being around plants and spending time in green spaces, is not only good for the soul but also good for the body and mind. It lowers blood pressure, decreases stress, soothes anxiety, and increases our focus.
Creating your own personal peace garden won’t solve the world’s problems, but it can, in reality, help to strengthen you. Taking time to step away from the daily grind and focus on the living things around you can help ground you in ways that nothing else can. Gardens connect you to the energy of nature and help you ponder the power of creation. Green spaces can clear your mind and deepen your focus—allowing you to envision solutions to your daily challenges. You can even develop a deeper sense of self as you become a creator in your own space—designing, planting, and helping your little corner of the world to grow.
Buddleia Pugster Butterfly Bush
When we feel overwhelmed by things around us that are completely out of our control, we can step out into a garden and literally create a living, breathing refuge. Your personal peace garden is a place where even pulling weeds will give you a sense of accomplishment. It’s a place where you manage, maneuver, and orchestrate positive change even when all around you is chaotic.
