You know when you have been away from something for a while, and things have piled up, and somehow you need to attack the mountain but just can’t bring yourself to do it? That’s what it feels like with blogging right now. I have SO much to share with you after an incredible few weeks off for my wedding and honeymoon – we were showered with love and I don’t know enough ways to say thank you to so many different people. But somehow it is hard to know where to begin!
So I am going to ease myself in gently with this little musing about gardening, and tell myself that I’m not really procrastinating about sharing everything else…
Last summer brought so much rain to the North of England that our garden became an explosion of green. The black bamboo has gone wild and shoots way up into the sky. The wisteria has climbed thick across the canopy which hangs over our little sunken table. And there are lots of (pretty) weeds around. So we decided to do some gardening – starting with getting rid of the old water feature put in by the previous owners of the house, and replacing it by a sawn-off beer barrel filled with pink and white pansies.
Doing physical work in the garden felt so good – I loved picking away at the earthy compost with radio tunes wafting through the air. I felt like I had earned my achy back, and the cups of tea tasted even better outside.
I think the thing I liked the best was the fact that my head pretty much emptied of anything while I was working with the soil. My head is normally a very busy place, so it was a kind of meditation to me.
I have to confess I know very little about gardening, but I would love to learn more. Our neighbours are fantastic, dedicated gardeners who spend hours and hours plucking and trimming, sweeping and nurturing, and their garden looks gorgeous as a result. Maybe this can be a new hobby for me in the years ahead? Anything that wears the body but relaxes the brain sounds like a good tonic to me.
Are you green fingered? What is it you love about gardening? Any top tips for a novice like me?
