Confrontation with the cycle: Finding nature (and yourself) in the garden
by Michael Watson (comments: 0
“Nature, in its ministry to man, is not only the material, but is also the process and the result. All the parts incessantly work into each other’s hands for the profit of man. The wind sows the seed; the sun evaporates the sea; the wind blows the vapor to the field; the ice, on the other side of the planet, condenses rain on this; the rain feeds the plant; the plant feeds the animal; and thus the endless circulations of the divine charity nourish man.”
From “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1836
In winter, photos of the ecological teaching garden of the IB on Instagram probably wouldn't get very many likes. The once lush nature paradise looks desolate, dirty, and dead in February. No buzzing and humming, no growth and flourishing, no blossoms, few leaves. #InstaGood or #NaturePhotography would feel out of place among the bare shrubs, decaying piles of leaves, and muddy ground. A more fitting hashtag might be #DeathAndDecay, although such a tag likely wouldn’t go viral.
When we search for #NatureInspired, we’re looking for posts with idyllic landscapes, colorful flower meadows, and enchanting streams. Lush greenery, blue skies, and all that. A musty, gray, muddy garden just doesn’t work well as a Windows 11 background and might even evoke discomfort, prompting some of us to retreat to the couch and wait for summer with Netflix.
Andreas Niemöller sees it differently. For him, the garden in winter is nothing to shy away from. On the contrary: bare shrubs and decaying piles of leaves are, to him, a sign that life in the garden can continue. “In the garden, we are once again integrated into the cycles of nature,” he explains to us. “Here, you are constantly confronted with the passing and renewal of life. Those who engage with it will learn to live in the moment and appreciate it.”
Status quo: alienation from nature
However, most people in our affluent society do not have this mindset. Rather, they emulate material fantasies of the future and deny their own transience. Niemöller attributes this state of affairs to our alienation from nature. For him, the relationship between humans and nature has developed strongly in a negative direction over the last few centuries. “We used to be much more involved in the natural processes of life,” he explains. “Our food came from the farmer and there were no strawberries in winter. So we had to come to terms with the cycles of nature at every meal.”
The uneasy feeling that people experience at the sight of leafless trees in winter - or empty strawberry shelves in the supermarket - is a symptom of our alienation from nature. “Nowadays, we don't even think about our relationship with nature,” he explains. “We are no longer integrated into the natural cycles of life. Instead, we are constantly distracted by the artificial plastic world, so we miss out on what life is really about.”

Although our conversation repeatedly circles back to the topic of social media, the alienation from nature predates Instagram, TikTok — and even Facebook. The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson already criticized the “inhabitants of the cities” in 1836, accusing them of having become estranged from nature and instead fully immersed in the hamster wheel of materialism, where work becomes an end in itself: “A man is fed, not that he may be fed, but that he may work.”
Nearly 200 years later, it seems we haven’t progressed much: “Instead of focusing on the truly important things in life, we let ourselves be distracted by materialism. And when we fail to live up to the ideals of materialism — with a house, a car, and expensive vacations — we feel bad and develop mental health issues.”
Why is alienation from nature bad?
But why is alienation from nature bad in the first place? Wouldn’t it be time, in 2024, to finally free ourselves from our biological constraints? The trained vegetable farmer and work educator disagrees with these questions, arguing that nature provides us with the foundation for life. “Before we can produce fully synthetic food — which I strongly doubt will happen anytime soon — we humans are part of nature and should engage with it instead of alienating ourselves from it.”
This alienation from nature can manifest in different ways. Most people, in their daily lives, don’t spare a thought for nature or the natural processes that make life possible for all of us. According to Niemöller, this is evident in how we treat our environment, the climate, and biodiversity.
Equally dangerous as denying nature is a romanticized notion of nature as a benevolent entity that shouldn’t be interfered with: “Nature is ruthless and doesn’t care whether I catch a deadly virus or break my leg and die out here.”
“Living in harmony with nature doesn’t mean letting ourselves be completely overwhelmed by it,” he begins. “Intervening in nature can actually be beneficial for biodiversity and for us humans.” This can be clearly seen with a wildflower meadow: if it is no longer cared for and mowed, “within two to three years at most, the dominant grasses will take over and displace the blooming wildflowers.”
What is the alternative to alienation: Experiencing nature in the garden
But what is the alternative to denying or romanticizing nature? For the passionate gardener, a healthy relationship with nature can be learned in the garden. “In the garden, we apply the mechanisms of nature and learn how to use them to secure our livelihood.”
Anyone who works in the garden is confronted with the radical cycles of life and inevitably has to engage with them. “It is only through the death and decay of plants and animals that new life can grow from the soil. It is only through death and decay that the paradise we live in is made possible.”
In conversation, he explains that engaging with the natural cycles of the garden has a healing effect on our psyche. Only by confronting (and accepting) the constant dying, decaying, and regrowth in the garden can we, as humans, reconnect with ourselves. This way, one can learn what truly matters in life: “In the garden, you return to your origins. You encounter yourself and the world on a completely different emotional level. The garden makes us healthy.” And the vegetable farmer and work educator is not alone in this belief. Philosophers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau wrote 200 years ago that nature is a mirror of our existence: “Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.” So, anyone who sees life in a decaying pile of leaves is probably on the right path.