Take a stroll through Helen Stewart's enchanted garden,  and discover the allure of living in creative relationship with soil and soul. Gardening is in Helen's blood. Her great grandfather ran the world's largest nursery of his time. Following in his footsteps, Helen, a former sheep farmer, turned artist, author and community weaver -- has gradually transformed the grounds of her heritage home in Victoria, Canada, into a place of wonder and quiet revolution. There is a combination of reverence, ecological wisdom, and whimsy to her approach. While all manner of creatures are nourished by her garden, Helen only plants things that she intends to draw, and she is guided by a conviction that gardens are meditative spaces. They deepen not just our contact with ourselves, but also our connection to the world, and give us new ways of seeing our place in it. This short film, that shares its title with Helen's latest book, is a sanctuary unto itself. Watch, and let a little bit of Helen's green, growing world spill into yours. 

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  • Berenice

    What this video did was to remind me of when I lived on the Land. Whilst I did not have a garden similar to Helen's, we did have animals, an orchard, fish pond, trees etc. and abundance of birds and wildlife. It was a tranquil life, if not a busy life, but oh so fulfilling. Thank you Helen for inviting me into your life for a short time. I would love to purchase a copy of your book.

  • Gabriela

    Helen is inspiring me to paint, to garden with a different sense of creativity, and to enjoy a cup of tea.

  • Dolores

    Helen drawing her garden

  • Carol Bennett

    The natural beauty!

  • Klaus

    Realy a very nice place, like a little paradise. The garden looks realy like a kind of painting and a loving and mindful view of nature and earth. But also after a good gardener! I would like to visit the place once and to meditate there, practice yoga,or just sit there doing nothing, just see and listen. Many greetings from Germany

  • Christina

    I enjoyed seeing all the different Flowers growing together, in this serene & peaceful place. It would be difficult to not feel the Happiness when viewing this video! Thank You for Sharing.

  • Denise

    The magic of it! ❤️

  • Rosa

    I now want to begin my day with a coffee and a walk around the garden with my dog... thank you so much for sharing this. Very inspiring!

  • Charlene

    I am so moved by Helen and her beautiful garden. She is to be admired and I cherish this video and feel her calm and gentle spirit. I feel I have been given a gift to have been able to know and watch Helen Stewart in this video!!!

  • Michelle

    What a fabulous video. Helen is truly gifted!

  • Elizabeth Murray

    I was inspired by the love Helen has for her garden and the world. From Soil up- I love that she draws her garden and knows it so intimately. I too am a gardener- artist and have deeply studied Monet as a gardener-artist. I love how being a garden artist can last our entire life and be an inspiration to others.

  • Christin Morgan

    My garden is one of the most important things in my life. I believe the garden has an affect on everything in our lives. The first thing I do in the morning is get a cup of tea and walk the garden, Visit the wild life and plan my day. I would love to meet Helen some day. This video will have to do for now. Very inspiring.

  • Linda Carrington

    Loved the beauty of this story and the the garden. I love that it is organically cared for. I love that even though Helen is clearly an older woman she is active and passionate about what she does.

  • Jasvinder Kaur

    The peace and sheer serenity of being in a garden surrounded by flora and fauna as well as wildlife is magical and soothing for the soul.I makes me marvel at the creator's creativity.Watching Helen's film,has inspired me to maintain and make the most of my little green spaces around my home. Thank you. 💗

  • Vinod Eshwer

    Life is Art is Life. This makes me want to slow down and start sketching again. Thank you!

  • E. Connie

    The holistic balance and beauty; one practice inspires for the other and together they are so much more than the sum of their parts. Lovely and inspiring!

  • Nancy

    creating joy for others.

  • Lynne Oakes

    Besides the beauty of the garden and her art, it was the CALMNESS all throughout the very well done video. Thank you.

  • Maria Romero

    I was drawn in by its beauty and its peaceful calm of its silent presence drawing me into its inner sanctuary of life and abundance. It reminded me of my mother's love for gardening and how she could lose herself four hours in its beauty and charm.

  • Nicole Cremers

    Such a beautiful garden. It looks like a good place to go on holiday's. Best wishes from Germany:-)

  • Raine

    Thank you for sharing! I felt at peace while watching this video. I am more inspired to get my home so I can start my own garden. I love birds, animals, flowers and plants, and the smell of the earth. I can't wait to read the book. May you continue to enjoy your creation for many years to come!

  • Maria

    The message that interest and curiosity are the main ingredients to inspiration and to passing gifts of joy and light onward.

  • Kristin Pedemonti

    Another wonderful and beautiful example of following one's passion and sharing one's gifts to make the world, in this case, literally, a more beautiful place. Thank you Helen and team and Ian the filmmaker for sharing her story!

  • Tracey Calcutt

    Wow what a wonderful garden and ethos. Magical and a real joy to be invited in. Thank you.

  • Linda D’Ilio

    When one enters Helen’s garden, your body slows, your mind slows and you begin to feel the quiet, the calm and the beauty there. When you look at her artwork, somehow she has captured the quiet, the calm and the beauty on the pages. Pure magic. Thank you for this video.

  • Marie Pawluk

    The art Helen creates in her garden and in her books and cards is inspirational. Thank you for the beauty shared in this documentary.

  • Joan Kakoske

    I am truly drawn in over and over again into Helen's World. Being with her words and drawings is being brought into her quiet revolution and her quest. I gifted myself a copy of her new book "Drawn into the Garden" and found it filled with magic, real plant and gardening learning, peace and beauty. As I read it over and over as it fills the quest we all have for deep connection and the creative spirit which we all experience when we wander garden pathways. We are nurtured. Thank you Helen for being passionate wonderful you and continuing to share your wisdom and joy.

  • Jean Layland

    Helen’s lovely drawings reveal her intimate knowledge of and love for the many plants in her spectacular garden, as well as the things that interact with and nourish them. But I am also drawn into her garden by her writing, part science, part poetry, part autobiography. (Did you know that butterflies taste with their feet and hear with their wings?) Reading and re-reading, I gain new understandings of the history and lifestyle of certain flowers and the unfolding energy of the seasons, the lessons that soil can teach us, including the remarkable way trees communicate through their underground network of mycelium fibres, and the way that Helen transformed an acre of rocky outcroppings into “a rare place of indwelling peace, a place for the soul to find rest.”

  • Maike

    What a lovely garden!

  • Amina

    To be enchanted, drawn in by what is seen -garden, Helen, birds, dog and commenters, and what is unseen but felt in the uplift of one's spirit. Thank you

  • Grace

    Such a variety of plant types and colours, the wildlife seems keen to visit.

  • Janel

    I can only dream of having a garden so lush and vibrant one day. It takes special hands and a special heart to nourish and create such an oasis and such beautiful art to reflect that. Sweet pooch :)

  • Joel

    Such a beautiful garden! You can really see the intent and the effort that went into it, and the appreciation that Helen has for it.

  • Gabriella

    What a beautiful documentary! This clip was just sent to me by a friend. To watch it was a true heart opening experience. I can only imagine how soul pampering and nurturing Helen Stewart's new book will be. Colored pencils are a fine medium to express the subtleties of nature and creation like a magic wand. My favorite tool for the creation of art. Once connected intimately with the love of Mother Nature, the need of conveying and communicating this deep felt relationship is inevitable. This is what I feel is radiating from the book Drawn into the Garden. Helen Stewart's garden is already an inspiration on its own. No till gardening is worth to look into! (Gosh I miss my garden!) I wish this book will ignite the soul and heart of many to find their way back to nature and creation.

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  • Learn more about Helen's writing, art work and garden here.
  • Explore the trinity of 'Soil, Soul and Society', in this inspiring talk by environmental activist Satish Kumar.
  • Carve out time today to walk outdoors and follow Helen's encouragement to look, listen, and truly tune into the living world that we are part of.

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