Regenerative Landscaping 

On a wet, overcast day in late October three years ago, volunteers planted a meadow garden in a retirement community near where I live in western Massachusetts. Using trowels and digging knives, they planted live perennial plugs into moist soil with the color and texture of a fluffy chocolate cake.

I fell hard for gardening in my early 20's. I had just fled too-urban New York City for a rental house in Oakland, and was thrilled by the trees and space and flowers. My first garden was teeny, just a patch of dirt out front. But 30 years later I had a house and a yard divided into what I consider rooms, which means each section has its own feel.