Garden

The garden is something that grows but requires someone to care for it. It can symbolize one’s inner development—whether it has stagnated or is flourishing. For the inner life to grow and thrive, it must be nurtured.

The garden is a private, perhaps intimate space, delicate and filled with love. The Secret Garden illustrates this beautifully. If one neglects one's inner garden—or development—it risks becoming chaotic and perhaps even repulsive; but in the hands of a gardener, it can become magnificent. The gardener does something more, something beyond the natural growth. This is a human quality; we can be more than “just” natural.  

The garden is a distinctly feminine symbol, a mother image, an encompassing womb, and can be regarded as a vessel.  

At times, the garden has an erotic character. Jung interprets a dream in which a man invites a woman to come and work in his garden in this light (Dream Analysis Part I, p. 66). 

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