Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about root vegetables — especially in this season of winter and intentional rest.

When we cook with carrots, beets, turnips, and other roots, we’re holding plants that did their deepest work underground, quietly gathering nutrients in the dark. No spotlight. No rush. Just slow growth, patience, and purpose.

These carrots reminded me that winter is not a season of failure or stillness — it’s a season of quiet strengthening. Nature teaches us that roots grow deepest when conditions slow down.

In therapeutic horticulture, we talk about how tending to roots mirrors tending to ourselves:
🌿 Going inward
🌿 Resting without guilt
🌿 Nourishing what’s unseen
🌿 Trusting the process
🌿 Preparing for a new season

As we step fully into winter, may we remember that this is a time to ground ourselves, restore our emotional soil, and allow what’s beneath the surface to grow stronger.

Friend Leaves celebrates the healing found in everyday food, plants, and rituals — and root vegetables remind us that our own growth does not always need to be visible to be powerful.

Here’s to deeper roots, warmer meals, and gentler seasons.

If you’re ready to grow your own connection to plants this season — from the soil up — explore our 6-Week All-Year-Round Gardening Course and upcoming therapeutic horticulture workshops.