In these strange and unsettling times, I have a simple suggestion. It will take about a minute and I would be very surprised if it didn’t change your perspective. Just a teeny bit anyway.
Find a leaf, a blossom or some cut flowers and then stop. Yes, that is it. Stop and stare. Try to stop and stare for about a minute. This will probably be harder than you think, but give it a go.
What patterns do you notice? What colours stand out more than others? What emotions are evoked? Try not to react to the monkeys in your head as they chatter away, telling you of your pressing schedule for the day.
The more one looks at the natural world, the more it becomes evident just how diverse, extraordinary and beautiful it really is. That is partly why I became a Garden Designer in Hampshire. The truth is, we rarely make enough time to experience this. Sir David Attenborough once said at a house of commons select committee: “We depend on our connection to nature for our very sanity”.
Write down your thoughts, and, as an astronaut advised on his return from outer space (a place not to be confused with the end of the queues at supermarkets), why not keep a diary of your observations and your responses over the next months? Just an idea.
If you are fortunate enough to be able to get out into a garden this month, there are a number of jobs to be getting on with: it is the ideal time to finish those tasks that you have been meaning to complete for years:
Lawn repairs: now the frosts are receding, seed can be bought online and sown on patches that have become worn. Remember to prepare the ground by scraping off any unwanted weeds or worn grass and giving the area a good rake over. Add a sprinkling of compost. Keep hungry birds away by hanging up old CD’s, tinfoil or playing Die Hard movies very loudly.
Pond plants: whilst ponds can be Heaven, they also be Hell to look after. Now is the time to get at the water lilies and marginal plants, to divide them into smaller clumps in order to them choking the life out of a pond.
Wildlife: if you are in the mood for clearing, cutting and composting, please be aware that this is the time of year when much of the local wildlife will be making their nesting homes. Avoid hedge cutting and be attentive when you are tidying up shelter spots. You can help hedgehogs move around from garden to garden by making small gaps at the base of fences.
Compost: add compost or well-rotted manure to borders and around the bases of trees and shrubs: this will help keep the moisture in, the weeds off and give a slow release of nutrients.
Plant autumn flowering bulbs and corms: why not invest in a bit of summer joy? Order and plant Gladiolus (Gladioli), Eucomis (pineapple flower), and Galtonia canadensis ( summer hyacinth). They will really add some dramatic colour and shape to your borders.
I have a long list of DIY jobs to finish over the coming months. As sure as eggs is eggs, unless I get my ‘inspiration time’, there is no way I am going to get any of them started, let alone finished.
I guess that means some more staring and dream time. Remind me; what was it that I was complaining about a few moments ago?