Mental Wellness
Growing Dome owners consistently describe the unexpected impact their domes have on their mental wellness. Year-round access to warm soil, natural daylight, and growing things provides a profound source of comfort and grounding, especially through long winters or difficult seasons of life. This category brings together writing on the wellness benefits of greenhouse gardening and sometime mental health topics more broadly. When possible we include dome owner stories about their dome uses and daily routines that come from having a green, warm space to walk into year-round.
The Story of the Kula Kamala Foundation Growing Domes
September 10, 2026
Three Growing Domes have become an integral part of life at a Pennsylvania ashram, supporting food production, ceremonial flowers, seedling preparation, and community programs that nourish both people and place.
Growing Domes Thrive as Therapy Greenhouses
December 3, 2024
As the owner of Growing Spaces, I have the privilege of collaborating with various organizations, including schools, non-profits, and community groups, to promote sustainable and innovative growing and healing practices. Through our in-kind grants and partnerships, we aim to empower individuals and organizations to cultivate their own food, regardless of their climate, location or resources. …
Reflections on Retirement
May 13, 2020
Udgar and I founded Growing Spaces in 1989. The process of selling it was like looking for the right partner to pass on the baton in an exciting marathon. Preparing for that moment took extra energy. Our team had become our community as we developed the agility together to master all the moving parts of an evolving company. After retiring, we decided to travel in order to mark the change and to distance ourselves from our results-driven habits.
It’s QuaranTime
April 21, 2020
With the craziness of the world right now, it can be tempting to pick up the remote and start a little vacation in your apartment. However, this can quickly turn into a harmful thing. Staying inside all day can have negative effects if you aren’t working towards positive goals and creating a productive environment. Try to make your work-from-home day like any other workday. But instead of a stressful morning commute, take a healthy morning walk outside. And take the extra time to do some other things you normally would not have time to do on a busy morning.
Green Thumb Daddy’s Greenhouse
January 1, 2020
Stories From Growing Domes Across the Globe Andrew Trujillo – Green Thumb Daddy The Growing Spaces team often refers to Andrew as the face of Growing Dome Greenhouses. Although he doesn’t work for Growing Spaces, he is one of our biggest supporters and provides outstanding feedback, content and wonderful pictures on our social media channels….
Tropical Flowers in New Mexico Mountain Greenhouse
November 30, 2019
Matt & Christie’s New Mexico Mountain Greenhouse is growing beautiful tropical flowers year-round If you are an avid user of the Growing Spaces Facebook Group “Growing Dome Enthusiasts”, then you are no doubt familiar with our December Growing Dome of the Month owner, Matt Larson. He often posts pictures of his extraordinary flowers in his…
Sustaining Mental Wellness In Your Growing Dome® Greenhouse
December 18, 2018
Gardening Sustains Mental Wellness While Providing Healthy, Nutritious Food: A Win-Win for You and Your Body Gardening in a Growing Dome is an invaluable method to improve and sustain mental and emotional wellness. Growing Domes are coveted, some would argue sacred, retreats to be with nature and one’s thoughts and emotions. At some point, however,…
Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet in a Growing Dome
November 16, 2018
Cara Barnes of Hollyhock Farms in Aspen Colorado talks about sustaining a whole food plant based diet out of her Growing Dome Greenhouse
7 Simple Secrets to Maintain Vibrant Health
February 27, 2018
75 Year Old Ex-Dentist Reveals Effective No Cost Methods of Improving Health Naturally Following are 7 simple tips to maintain vibrant health, as given by this guy. And unless you’re brand new here, I bet you recognize our fearless leader! Udgar Parsons, the creator of the Growing Dome® and co-owner of Growing Spaces®. You’ve probably seen…
How to Boost Your Immunity with these 5 Garden Herbs for Flu and Cold Season
February 2, 2018
Boost Immunity and Beat the Flu with these Powerful Medicines Found in Your Kitchen, Window-Shelf Pot, or Year Round Growing Dome® Garden.
Essentially Being: Transitioning to a Healthy Happy Lifestyle
September 21, 2017
Building blocks of a healthier life Our health is so important and it can change so rapidly. There are a plethora of small things that you can do to positively transition your well-being and your lifestyle effectively. The little things really do add up! Before you know it they can create a snowball effect in…
Assisted Living Greenhouse
June 29, 2016
Robert Hilger transformed a barren wasteland, a forgotten metal scrap yard, into a living, growing landscape for the betterment of seniors. Now he is transforming an outdated barren mindset of institutions which may not serve us to our highest potentials.
Notes from Puja: Reflections During Strawberry Moon
June 24, 2016
She just flew up to the window as if to say “Are you Awake now?” I am slowly getting there. Attempting to summarize my thoughts, my woodpecker friend evokes the question by testing various surfaces on our log cabin home. What to say? I’m in a reflective mood. In this record heat, all I can…
Return of the Light: Back to the Garden
March 23, 2016
As I consider the “Return of the Light” as signified by the Spring Equinox, Easter and even the Lunar Eclipse this week, I have to say… “It is welcome!” I have been very moved by the troubles we see and hear about globally, as we enter the next season. Growing Spaces® mission “to help personal…
Winter Solstice: The Turning Of The Light
December 16, 2015
The Winter Solstice: A time to celebrate, a time of re-affirmation, and a time of courage. In the Northern Hemisphere, the December Solstice is the Winter Solstice, and the shortest day of the year. Although winter is the season of dormancy, darkness and cold, the December Solstice marks the “turning of the Sun.” The days slowly get…
Exercise To Cultivate Wellness
December 10, 2015
We all know the importance of eating good food. And we all know the importance of exercise, but do you do it? Be honest. Do you get enough exercise? Do you have something in your life that keeps you consistently exercising 4 or 5 times a week? Now, I’m not talking about lifting weights, working…
Season’s Greetings
December 17, 2014
Season’s greetings! What is this season? A time of turning…turning toward snow boots and scrapers and bundling up to scrape snow off the solar panels and help Udgar mount the plow. The smell of wood smoke nurtures my sense of gratitude for our Rocky Mountain home and the outdoor life we get to live. This…
Living in Gratitude this Season
November 24, 2014
As I begin this Newsletter greeting, I was just watching wild turkeys outside our window scratching for food. I always feel wonder that they return every year and surround our cabin with their good energy, reminding me of the pilgrims and Native American’s offering gratitude. I am preparing a surprise turkey dinner for a friend and…
Celebrate Everything – Growing Spaces Values
February 7, 2014
When we started Growing Spaces LLC in 1989, our effort was to build a socially responsible business based on the values and practices we are living. One of them was the idea to “Celebrate Everything.” For me that means the attempt to shift inside, and see the potentials in every experience as well as to…
New Moon, New Year, New Beginnings
January 15, 2014
I have just settled in by the fire, on our coldest day on record in two decades in the USA, according to N.O.A.A. Weather Service online. With the wind chill, my relatives in Minnesota are experiencing 60 degrees below zero today! Lucky for us, it is only 5 degrees below zero in Pagosa Springs, but…
Accessing Our Inner Wisdom in Business
August 27, 2013
A few years ago I was privileged to be on a panel of CEOs at our annual SW Colorado Women’s Business Conference and asked “How do women do business differently than men?” Although the moment called a response from the three of us that invited us all to recognize that we all possess masculine and…
Peace as a practice taught through gardening
July 1, 2013
There is an intangible, but equally empowering peace that comes with the practice of growing our own food. Have you taken the time to understand where this peace comes from? In understanding the roots of this peace we can find ways to expand on it and move the practice over into other parts of our…
It’s Earth Day
May 17, 2013
It’s Earth Day, and this is being celebrated in many places around the globe (see Earthday.org ). In our own small town, the people of vision were out on a cold day in their booths giving away small trees to celebrate Earth Day. There were many examples of innovation and many contributions to the awareness…
Dancing with Stress, Managing Overwhelm
February 20, 2013
What IF I could live in such balance that the energy needed for my everyday commitments was an OVERFLOW out of the peace and natural enthusiasm I carry within me? What if I could re-set myself, when I was thrown off balance? And make recovery an art form? This has been my developing goal since…
Proof that Gardening Gives a Natural Mood Lift
December 12, 2012
How many people do you know who are affected by depression, anxiety, stress or other emotional illness? Or maybe the better question is: Who do you know that is not affected? The pressures of today’s increasingly fast-paced, high-tech society that demands you know all things at all times and learn to do them all at…
Keynote Address: Staying Centered in the Cyclone
July 24, 2012
One of our two favorite leaders of Growing Spaces, Puja Parsons, gave a beautiful keynote address to an audience of nearly 200 at the SW Colorado Women’s Small Business Conference in Durango, Colorado on July 13th, 2012. It was a bit of a new frontier for Puja because she had the opportunity to present how…
A Child in Canada Gets His Wish with a new Growing Dome Greenhouse
April 16, 2012
Ever heard about the “Children’s Wish Foundation”? Well we had the amazing opportunity to be involved with them in fulfilling the wish of a boy with Leukemia. He asked for his own Growing Dome. We’re speechless about how beautiful a thing this is and are very glad to share this nice article The Children’s Wish…
Visioning the Balance
November 21, 2011
“For Puja and I, everything is connected, and we are ever awed by the complexity and beauty of the natural world. Offering a product which helps people enjoy and support this beauty and the bountiful ways of nature – while growing an abundance of food – is very fulfilling for us.” – Udgar Parsons, Co-Owner…
A Worthy Journey: Putting youth gardening into perspective
September 19, 2011
As we celebrate the interest from children and young adults in growing organic food, we want to point to major influences over the last few years. I thank the efforts of Jamie Oliver, Will Allan, and Michelle Obama and many Moms and Dads who are convinced that learning “where food comes from” is the beginning…
An Inspirational Culture of Life
July 19, 2011
Paul Renner of Gabrielle Cousins Living Foods program in Arizona pays a visit to Growing Spaces Greenhouses
Michelle Obama and Growing Spaces – Working Toward a Common Goal
March 17, 2011
Today’s announcement that Michelle Obama is authoring a book on the importance of school, urban and community gardening is another example of the mind shift that is happening in the United States and across the globe. Her support of healthier, more self-sustaining lifestyles is directly in line with Growing Spaces vision. Growing Spaces was founded…
Shumei Natural Agriculture & Growing Spaces
October 11, 2010
“The principle of Natural Agriculture is an overriding respect and concern for Nature,” stated Mokichi Okada in his book A Great Agricultural Revolution. This respect leads to minimum intervention in the growing processes. While many modern agricultural practices are based on a belief in the need to control and manipulate the growing process, Natural Agriculture…
How Growing Your Own Food Changes Your Life
August 2, 2010
Growing just one food-producing plant at home like tomato, bell pepper, strawberry, lettuce, snow peas, etc. can do more than just save money otherwise spent at the grocery store. Whether you are a family of five, a single-person household, or a community of many, you can make a difference in how you live – today!…