Quiet Luxury, Everyday Wellness and the Garden Retreat

Wellness is a word that shows up everywhere these days, and often without a clear definition. In our work, where the built and natural environments intersect, it’s a concept we think deeply about when designing a garden retreat. What does it mean to design for wellness, and how does it show up in our lives?

Wellness isn’t just about the mind or the body. I believe it’s about the balance between the two, how mental clarity and physical vitality support each other. In our field, we often approach it as a process rather than a destination. The wellness industry can make it feel like something to acquire (buy this and your life will be so much better!! I did and look at me!!), but we see it more as a rhythm to live by – something rooted in rest, reflection, and meaningful connection to the spaces around us.

Of course, there’s complexity in this pursuit. At what point does seeking wellness become striving? Does the desire for calm turn into pressure when it becomes a checklist item or expectation? Perhaps the most valuable experiences of wellness are the ones that emerge naturally, when we’re not forcing them. Moments that feel earned – rare, but real.

Personally, I’ve found that gardening brings me closest to that feeling. It’s physical, intentional, and deeply rewarding. There’s a Dutch proverb, made popular by Martha Stewart, that puts it well: “If you want to be happy for a year, get married. If you want to be happy for a decade, get a dog. If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, make a garden.”

A garden retreat will differ from most things that are bought and paid for, as it is ever-changing and a reflection of forces outside of control (climate, seasons, even animals and insects, for example). It is about patience, presence, and care. Working with the land, or even just watching things grow, and being part of nature’s cycles creates a grounded sense of accomplishment and wonder. It’s a quiet, lasting kind of joy. This year, we borrowed a Mason Bee house from our library along with cocoons, and all the nesting tubes are already full – no room at the inn! I expect our apple trees will do even better than usual this year, and my kids and I can’t wait to see the progress.

At Donohoe Living Landscapes, this is the heart of what we do. We design outdoor environments that invite participation, or passive enjoyment. These aren’t static showpieces but living systems that respond to attention and evolve with time. When you prune, divide, plant, and tend, you create more than beauty. Or if that’s not your thing, if you watch a plant come to life in the spring, provide shade or colour all summer, and slowly return to the earth in the fall – you build a relationship with the land. And in that relationship, you might find clarity, calm, and well-being.

Like any meaningful practice, experiencing true wellness takes intention – whether through quiet reflection or active participation in whatever your garden retreat might be. But with that effort comes something lasting: a deeper connection to the natural world, and to ourselves.