The Heart Garden
Water one small practice and watch a plant grow. Six plants, one for each Pillar. There are no streaks to lose and no scores, and your garden never wilts. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Grow a garden, one practice at a time
This tool needs JavaScript to grow your garden. You can still do it on paper: draw six plants, one for each Pillar, and add a leaf each time you try one small practice, such as three slow breaths or a kind word.
Your garden is waiting for its first drop of water.
Pick a plant below and water it with one small practice.
Water your Self-Awareness plant
Choose one small thing, do it, then tap “I did this”. It is all on trust: this garden is for you.
- Name how you feel: happy, sad, angry, scared or tired.
- Notice where you feel it in your body. A tight tummy? Warm cheeks?
- Ask yourself: what do I need right now?
Water your Self-Regulation plant
Choose one small thing, do it, then tap “I did this”. It is all on trust: this garden is for you.
- Take three slow breaths: in for four, out for six.
- Find your Zone: green, yellow or red. All zones are okay.
- Pause for one breath before you answer someone.
Water your Growth Mindset plant
Choose one small thing, do it, then tap “I did this”. It is all on trust: this garden is for you.
- Say “I can’t… yet” about something tricky.
- Try something hard for just two minutes.
- Look at a mistake and ask: what did it teach me?
Water your Empathy & Connection plant
Choose one small thing, do it, then tap “I did this”. It is all on trust: this garden is for you.
- Ask someone, “What is it like to be you today?” and listen.
- Notice how someone else might be feeling.
- Say one kind thing to someone.
Water your Relationships & Repair plant
Choose one small thing, do it, then tap “I did this”. It is all on trust: this garden is for you.
- Say sorry for something, in your own words.
- Put one small thing right.
- Thank someone who helped you.
Water your Resilience & Purpose plant
Choose one small thing, do it, then tap “I did this”. It is all on trust: this garden is for you.
- Rest for one quiet minute.
- Name one thing that is going well.
- Think of one thing you do that matters to someone.
Your garden is kept in this browser, on this device only. Nothing is sent. “Start a new garden” clears it.
Small, kind and never in a hurry
Small is enough
Each practice takes about a minute. A plant grows once a day, so a little often is better than a lot once.
Rest is part of growing
There are no streaks to break. If you have been away for a week, your garden has simply been resting, and it is glad to see you.
Friends visit as it grows
A butterfly, a bee, a bird, fireflies and a rainbow come to a garden that is cared for. See who turns up.
For grown-ups
Try it together. Water one plant each day as a family, or one at circle time in a classroom, and ask: which plant would we like to grow this week? The six plants are the six HeartWise Pillars, so each practice is a small way to live one of them. See the HeartWise method.