Welcome to Our 21st Season of Healing Gardens!

May you give yourself the gift of connecting with the timeless rhythm of the natural world this year. When you surround yourself  with the beauty of Nature, you will discover the beauty that lies within.

April 29

On a bright, buttery, warm spring day , I sat in the middle of yellow,
blooming celandine poppies 
surrounded by Virginia Blue Bells 
ringing out their own beauty 
for no one in particular.

I just happened to be passing by 
and stopped to chat. 
We engaged in a wordless conversation –
 that I could not possibly translate into words.

Today, I trust that I am moving in the right direction.

Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth 
are never alone or weary of life.  

~ Rachel Carson

~ from  Nature: Alive, Awake, and Knowing; A Year of Insight and Healing  
by Deborah Marqui

Announcing the arrival of a soon to be published,
yearly meditation book entitled,

 Nature: Alive, Awake and Knowing ; A Year of Insight and Healing  by Deborah Marqui

To My Readers: 
This book contains  365 soulful reflections, lessons, poems, and insights to take you on a daily transformative journey through the tapestry of the natural world. Many of meditations were inspired by Healing Gardens during a thirty year period. This compilation includes guest writer contributions. As many of you know, initially cancer became my “teacher," but Nature was the spiritual guide that continues to heal and transform my soul. Within the pages of this book, may you find a treasury of wisdom, shared by souls who have found solace, inspiration, and profound insights amidst the embrace of creation. Nature: Alive, Awake, and Knowing will be available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Townhouse Books in Saint Charles, Illinois. The publishing date is set for March 2026.

“What if you could find a moment of profound clarity every day?  Nature: Alive, Awake & Knowing  brings just such mindful awareness.  Deborah Marqui  opens us to the untamed splendor of nature, and the result is nothing short of poetic. Daily meditations that hearten, heal, and herald. A knowing guide to finding the tranquility that lives deep within us. One liberating moment every day.”
~ MaryMargaret Pucci, Emerita Professor, Loyola University Chicago

eBook

Healing Gardens: Where the Soul Is Tended   is a short eBook that was recently published.
It is available through Amazon for $2.99 and can be streamed through any preferred device.

To My Readers: 

Upon reading Healing Gardens: Where the Soul is Tended you will discover the motivation and my compelling commitment to share the experience of Healing Gardens with others.

But what was the reason behind the creation of Healing Gardens at Stone Hill Farm?
I invite you to read the whole story from the beginning in my newly published memoir, 
From the Fire Into the Garden: A Healing Journey.

Recently published memoir by local author, Pamela Verner: 

Breathing into the Light:
One Woman's Journey Embracing the Sacredness of All Life

Pamela has been a supporter of Healing Gardens from the beginning, as a ‘praying heart,’ holding and supporting the prayerful intentions of all who have visited the gardens. We celebrate with her, this page-turner read, as she transformed trauma into love and forgiveness.

"In her intimate and vulnerable memoir, Pam Verner takes us into the experience of the universal struggle for one's sense of belonging in this life. She invites us into the journey, largely forgotten in Western culture of engaging the world hidden to many beyond the veil of ordinary five sensed reality. The courage to trust her own experience allows, Pam to be mentored by helpful spirit guides at critical moments in her life.
In unveiling this sacred thread for us, we see it universally woven through and available to our own lives, past and present.” 

William J. McElroy, DDS, MA; Spiritual Director;  Founding Convener Of Illinois  Illuman,  Men as Learners and Elders; Retreat Director