A Place to Bloom; Gardening for Pleasure & Beauty
For many of us gardening came to the forefront during the Covid lockdowns. Even though I've gardened for most of my adult life, I know that during this time gardening was a way of easing the anxiety we all felt during the pandemic.
The need to garden was taken up by many who’d never gardened before. I’m sure most of us have never seen such a frenzy of sold-out seedlings and seeds before. It certainly brought to life stories of intensive vegetable gardening plots in the 1940s during World War II.
More than ever, Covid lockdowns brought to the forefront our need for nature, where we found that being in green spaces for our allowed daily walks was good for us.
We now know that spending time in nature is good for our wellbeing, alleviating anxiety, slowing us down and clearing our cluttered minds. Environmental Psychologists (Kaplan et al circa 1980s) refer to this as Attention Restoration Theory where we can focus on details of the natural environment around us without effort. Before we realise it, our stresses and worries are slowly eased.
Walking through a garden filled with lots of textures, colours and scent is a simple but profound pleasure. And receiving a bunch of flowers fresh from the garden also gives delight. Rose fragrance is said to ease anxiety, so even looking at and sniffing roses in a vase is good for us. And scented roses are perfect for an anxious bride!
Which is why I love to share the lovely old roses, herbs and blooms I grow in my garden so that others too can enjoy their beauty and fragrance. And growing them without pesticides or other harmful chemicals means that they’re safe to sniff and touch!
Even a small posy of herbs from the garden makes a lovely gift, full of scent and flavour if edible herbs are included!
Tip: If you're giving a posy of herbs for cooking, make sure ALL of the herbs are edible rather than expecting the recipient to know which ones are safe and which are not!! And including a favourite recipe is always helpful!
We know that when we garden, we’re not only creating somewhere peaceful and beautiful, it’s also a place where we and our loved ones too can bloom.
I hope you get to enjoy some nature this weekend. And maybe even a bunch of flowers too!
Enjoy!
xxLillian
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