Hi, I’m Kat Mason!

If you’re new to my world, I’d like to officially introduce myself and tell you the story of how gardening and working with the earth has helped me successfully manage a life-long struggle with depression, anxiety and eating disorders.

I grew up with a frustrating and painful relationship with food and over time developed binge eating, bulimia and anorexia disorders. I was a mess for most of my youth and young adulthood, caught in vicious cycles of self-hate, body image issues and trying to reconcile needing food to live versus using it for comfort. 

In 2012 I moved across the country from my home city Toronto to a tiny community in the Southern Gulf Islands of B.C. Canada where I joined an intensive therapy program. I practically crawled to my sessions each week and collapsed in exhaustion. The therapy itself was extremely healing and I uncovered so much in regards to my relationship with food.

Aside from the psychological work I was doing and the deep study of my astrological birth chart, I could feel that something else was missing when it came to my healing. I hadn’t realized it at the time but gardening would become my longest-standing tool for self-care.

I remember my therapist taking me out into her garden after our sessions, showing me her flowers, strawberries, and everything she believed was important about letting the earth heal you. It reminded me of the time my grandmother had spent with me as a young child, the way she introduced me to this powerful connection with nature. I was lucky to have access to these experiences early on in my childhood and again in my 20s.

Again and again, I would come back to the earth to heal. To let my pain and stress be seen and then decomposed with all of the critters and fungi. Putting my hands in the soil, feeling the leaves, smelling the flowers, listening to the birds and crickets, basking in the sun or letting myself be soaked by the rain. 

I became addicted to nature bathing. I made forest visits a must every day and had my mind blown by how vast and intricate the natural world really is. I started growing food (with many failures) and over the course of 8 years tried to learn anything and everything I could about plants. 

In 2013, a year after my therapy started I got my Permaculture Design Certificate and became a hardcore advocate for organic gardening and thinking about gardens in a more holistic way. Knowing that every creature, plant and element affected the eco-systems around them gave me an important perspective about my own impact. Having plants that I’m always taking care of has helped me develop more solid routines around my self-care. As a result, I’ve been able to manage some of the most painful things that have happened to me over the years. Growing food and culinary herbs have completely shifted how I think about food. Tending to these plants with my own hands gave me a deeper appreciation for what I eat and it’s also given me ways to channel tough emotions – rather than just eating them!

Spending time in nature has shown me how to relax, surrender and lean on something larger than myself. When I make time to do this, it significantly helps me stay calm, ease my anxiety and wake me out of depression.

Nothing makes as much sense as a garden 🙂