“In the last 50 years, humans have experienced the chaos of the technology we have created. Technology separates us from each other and from ourselves. The gift of nature is to provide the green space, the sanctuary, the solace, the reflection, the peace to bring us back.”

- Tom Stoner, TKF Foundation Co-Founder

There is not one of us who don’t feel the power of a garden, even the most seasoned, city-dwelling souls. Gardens are a space of refuge, of calm. The air is a little cleaner, the beauty more abundant. Some of us have natural proclivities in the garden (i.e. a “green thumb.) Others couldn’t grow a weed but still value the the power of a garden.

TKF is a foundation that’s been placing gardens in needful places for over 12 years. One of the most “needful places” was Western Correctional Institution, where TKF created a sacred place for the inmates that has been transformational. In the garden, there is a human sundial, where an inmate can connect with the sun and the stars and locate himself in time and space. There is also red roses for violence and white roses for hope. And lastly, there is a “well of unspoken truths” where the inmates can deposit thoughts on paper, thoughts that will never be read by another human.

How can you tend to your garden today? Maybe it’s just a small houseplant but let’s give our plants extra love. They help our souls and they are living with us, too.

Western Correctional Facility Garden