Using the garden and flowers as a sanctuary and catalyst for meditation and prayer isn’t a new concept or discipline. The garden has been a place for prayer since biblical times, with reference to the Garden of Gethsemane in which Jesus goes to pray during his weakest, most vulnerable and treacherous episodes in his life.
And although using the garden and its flowers for a place of peace, quiet and reflection has been in practice for millennia, the term “meditate” and its place in our gardens, both public and private, is somewhat modernistic.
Nowadays, we’ve finally conceded that the use of flowers and gardens, and practicing meditation inside the garden, has profound effects on our mindfulness and overall well-being.
Faith and resilience floriography garden
How often do we need to send our thoughts and messages to dear friends and loved ones who need a boost in resilience? It frequently goes undone, but so many of us lose our footing amid discourses, and we lose sight of why things happen the way they do.
We need fortitude, faith and resilience, and a posy and other gifts that you can give and receive from a garden such as this can offer hope, peace, encouragement and much more.
- Abutilon (AKA flowering maple): meditation, grace, dignity, enlightenment
- Anemone: faith
- Astrantia (Masterwort): strength, power, courage, protection
- Hazel: peace, divination, epiphanies, reconciliation
- Hydrangea: devotion, haven, gracefulness, heartfelt praise, protection
- Passion flower (Passiflora caerulea): Christian faith, belief, holy love, unpretentious
- Pelargonium, geraniums: general; peaceful mind
- Queen Anne’s Lace (Ammi majus, AKA bishop’s flower): haven, sanctuary, protection, warmth
- Thyme (Thymus vulgaris): affection, bravery, courage
I can’t think of anything else in the world that would make someone feel like they’ve been given such a lift in their spirit and a boost in their mindset than this posy… other than a nice, long, warm hug given along with it.
There are too many times to count when I’ve needed this posy myself, and wondered why I haven’t made myself one to take in all this goodness in the sentiments and beauty for some get-up-and-go. And what a joy to create this posy for someone else! As I always say, you reap what you sow, and here is an example of a lot of goodness coming back your way.
Cultivating a garden that cues us to quietness and leads us to inner peace and spiritual awareness can work wonders on our mental and physical well-being. For this reason, these gardens and the practice of sitting within them should be integrated into our daily lives as much as possible. I like to call this horticultural intervention, because it can work like a pill prescription, except it’s so much better for us.
The garden and nature are so good at organizing and calming our brains. I find that when I’m off-centre and without clear and concise direction and focus, a serene garden space reminds me of nature’s abundant samples of order and renewal, miracles, beauty, and the soft-spoken symbolism and messages that are conveyed to me.
Prayer and meditation sentiment garden
Because of our concentration on the messages and symbolic meanings of the plants in the sentiment, this serene prayer and meditation sentiment garden reflects the summer season and enhances our ability to reach our meditative state with its soft palette and tender textures. It’s very inviting, and with practice, a garden like this can elevate us in many wonderful and favourable ways.
- Blueberry: healing, prayer, protection
- Penstemon (AKA beardtongue): spiritual knowledge, understanding
- Plumbago: holy wishes, spiritual desire
- Stonecrop (Sedum villosum): tranquillity, welcome
- Sweet woodruff (Galium): patience, humility
- Willow: serenity, freedom garden, we’ve directed and funnelled our thoughts and energies towards a desired result, which in most cases results in settled and welcomed feelings about a particular subject or condition.
In our quest for perfection, we tend to deviate from nature as a culture, and often find ourselves on some slippery slopes. A meditation and prayer garden can help us circle back to nature. When we sit in these spaces that we’ve specifically designed to convey peace and meditative messages, solitude is allowed to seep in.
Alternate and seasonal variations
- Bird of paradise: a symbol of faithfulness, magnificence, splendour
- California pepper tree (Schinus): religious enthusiasm, sweetness, beauty, wit
- Columbine (Aquilegia): gifts of the holy spirit, wisdom, salvation
- Flowering cherry: spiritual beauty, celebration of new beginnings
- Gentiana, fringed: I look to heaven, loveliness
- Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens, AKA cherry pie, garden heliotrope): Godly devotion, forgiveness, acceptance, I remain true
- Lotus (Nymphaea lotus): purity, elegance, holy spiritual flower, silence, beauty, elegance, spiritual promises
- Sandalwood: spiritual empowerment, calmness in meditation, deep meditation
- Silver Fir (Abies alba, Abies amabilis): what you seek shall be found
- Vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides, AKA khus): tranquillity, grounding, harmony
Garden Notes
I. The Geraniaceae family, including the genus Pelargonium and all their varieties, are stalwarts of floriography gardens, posies and all other gifts of floriography. In every way, they’re just perfect! Their broad and general meanings in the language of flowers encapsulate so much of what we want to say for most occasions, and their aesthetic in floral design adds textures, fragrance and unique shapes and colours.
All these attributes serve them well when planted in the garden, as well as planted in pots, too. In fact, they’re a classic plant for terra-cotta pots. They’re one of the easiest potted plants that you can grow, often seemingly thriving on neglect, although I’m not saying to neglect them! Few, if any garden pests bother these plants, and they’ll tolerate temperatures down to approximately 20 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately -4 to -7 degrees Celsius).
II. Let’s all grow blueberries! There are so many varieties available to us, and at least one or more will be suitable for your gardening zone. They can be grown in pots, too, and they make such whimsical and fun additions to your potted gardens. Besides, they’re delicious and so nutritious, especially when you’ve grown them yourself!
Teresa Sabankaya is the author of Modern Floriography and a pioneer of the Slow Flower Movement, championing local, seasonal, sustainably grown flowers for more than two decades. A farmer-florist since 1999, her work has been featured at the de Young Museum, Filoli Historic House & Gardens and Monterey Museum of Art, and in Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire, CBS Sunday Morning, Elle and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Excerpted with permission by Teresa Sabankaya from Modern Floriography: Flowers, Gardens, and Gifts Inspired by the Language of Flowers (Indigo River Publishing). Copyright 2026.
image 1: MrDaiGraphicDesigner; all other images: Courtesy of Teresa Sabankaya