CHERISH A GARDEN IN SPIRIT OF SEASON.

Byline: JANE GATES Gardening

SANTA CLARITA - It's that holiday time of the year and for many people, the garden becomes just one more demand on the list of priorities.

If you feel that way, take a moment to get back some of what you put into your garden.

There are plenty of jobs for enthusiastic gardeners who don't suffer from being overwhelmed by all the demands of the season. But should some of that stress creep into your life, you can shift your attention away from all the 'have-to-dos' - a sure way to make even the most enjoyable projects discouraging - and look at your garden from a different perspective.

Gardens teach us about growth, magic and nature. They remind us that nature requires time to rest just like gardeners and their families, friends and pets.

Look for a quiet spot in your garden and take some time for yourself. Bring a frivolous book, a quiet pet, a pair of binoculars or maybe nothing at all. And schedule a break in your day. Enjoy the fruits of your labors and the gifts of your garden. Nature is a wonderful energy recharger for the human battery.

If you take care of yourself, you'll work more enthusiastically than before, doing not only a better job but also a faster job. Remember that taking care of yourself is the best investment you can make. You are irreplaceable.

While you're out in the garden, try to refocus from whatever needs your attention to that which is offering you gifts. Enjoy whatever flowers are showing off. Check out the insects with a curious eye to their shape, color, form and activity. See if there are any nice-smelling or interesting- looking greens, branches, dried-flower or seed heads that might add seasonal decoration to your house or table top. Look around for nature's gifts to keep children amused - such as interesting stones, curiously formed wood and chunks of bark or unusual seedpods.

See if your garden offers free pet playthings. If you have a cat, think about all the natural cat toys growing around you, such as long dry leaves, twisted stems, pinecones, catnip plants and dried seed heads.

Parrots love pinecones. I recommend you first zap the pinecones in the microwave, for 40 to 60 seconds, to sterilize them. Just watching your pooch bliss out in a back-scratch session can remind you of the joy of simple things.

Sometimes all the preparation and fussing in the world isn't more satisfying to those you love than a big hug or a moment of quality time in the garden.

Our gardens can offer us therapy in planting, watching things grow, getting our fingernails dirty and watching the magic of a fruit or flower or tree in its full glory.

The denizens of our gardens can also gift us with a sense of peace and a reminder that we are all made of the same stuff - stuff that was here long before we created all our overwhelming expectations. Stuff that will be here long after. Our gardens can remind us who we are, where we came from, and that the little things are really the big things after all.