If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.
– Marcus Tullius Cicero, Epistulae AD Familiares Vol. 2 47-43 BC
One of the best ways of trying to keep sane, calm and upbeat in these very difficult and challenging times is spending time outside, exercising and…gardening. After almost five months of lockdown, I can write about other pressing issues as the UK opens up on retail, leisure, cultural centres, libraries etc. However, it will be a missed opportunity to now see the beautiful displays and sense of change that comes with the changing of the season. Without a doubt the last winter has been one of the most difficult in our lifetime which the cold spell compounded with restrictions to group festive celebrations, New Year’s Eve parties, carnival get-together and birthday celebrations. The green shoots of spring bring us new hope of a coronavirus that is under control here (for now) and gaining some more freedom to spend time outside to enjoy the coming spring and summer seasons.
According to Mintel report on Hobbies and Interest February 2021, the lack of commuting and space time as the lockdown took over, meant that there is more time for hobbies such as “Baking, Handicrafts, Gardening and Home Improvements”. There was also a spike on Google Trends for people researching for these topics. We also have surplus time to spend on our hobbies and exercise due to the lack of commuting time. Gardens are great places to find peace, tranquility and mindfulness.
“The power of hobbies to improve mental wellbeing is set to drive growth throughout 2020. As mental health continues to be in the spotlight, hobby operators that position their services and products as beneficial in this respect stand to benefit.”
(Mintel Hobbies and Interests – UK, February 2020)
Garden Centre were some of the shops that remained open most of the last few months were garden centres and as soon as the weather was a bit better – I went to two of my favourites in my vicinity. I spent time looking at acid compost that I needed for a Magnolia plant present I received. I always end up spending more money than I intended when I visit that garden centre as it has some amazing plants that I do know find in the commercial garden centre. The centre is called Northfields and has been going for a number of years and seems to have some great photos of its’ horticultural historical business. It was really busy last summer at the peak of spring reopening in the pandemic! I plan to go back in the next few weeks to find some plants on my wish-list. So fingers crossed.
I was able to germinate some courgette seeds and I hope to plant them in the ground in the next few weeks. I also put in some herbs and lavender plants this month. There are some local friends who seems to have access to allotments. There photos of their progress and the ‘fruits of their labour’ (pardon the pun!) on social media is always great and inspiring to see. This allotment hobby is not a programme that happens in other countries, but our Italian cousins in Rome had an allotment with lots of impressive and delicious Mediterranean vegetables, fruits and herbs. I used to enjoy the visit there when we went a few years ago. Italians also process and bottle their tomatoes into ‘passata’ from the summer for next year ahead. My mother-in-law was also doing this in Bedford up until a decade ago. I also saw on social media that my Trinidadian-Canadian friend who is married to an Italian-Canadian doing this same tomato processing recently. I can only imagine the great flavours of the sauces they make! There must be something special about making your own vegetables but I don’t seem to have much luck as yet with tomatoes.
Over the years I have bought a few gardening books and love looking at photos in books and magazines. About 20-25 years ago, there was a great interest in gardening design and make-over TV programmes. It still seems to be some during daytime TV and I tend to catch up on ‘Gardens World’ on BBC iPlayer if I can’t look at it live. It does make me feel happy to see the plants and stories from other gardeners. The format also shows other members if the public in their gardens and sharing their tips with us. I love the diversity of the gardens and their presenters. I also take inspiration from some of these and can easily spend more time looking at this sort of light-hearted shows. I may also splash out in a few gardening magazines soon.
To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.
– Aubrey Hepburn
Due to traffic-calming and environmental improvement measures in my neighbourhood, there have also been continued guerrilla gardening in my community to help with these issues. In our local neighbourhood, some of my neighbours are also planning a Chelsea Fringe this June as a spin-off from the Chelsea Flower Show. And guess what? …I have never been to a Chelsea Flower Show even though I used to hear about it on the BBC World Service when I lived in Trinidad. Trinidadian horticulturalists do take part and sometimes win at the Chelsea Flower show too!
I have noticed that there are lot more plant and gift shops in my high street and hear that the twenty-somethings are buying more plants. There are definitely more plants in the shops in my local areas, and flower retailing were busy for Valentine’s Day and Mothering Sunday in London despite the lockdown. I received a few flower bouquets as presents from friends in March and it was nice to receive them even though we could not meet. Getting flowers by post is also something that is new to me. Bloom and Wild is a popular brand that is used for home deliveries. Flowers are one of the treats I have been buying myself in the last year as I am home to enjoy them!
Horticulture businesses are generally doing well in the pandemic as most people are spending the time in the garden spaces that they have. Garden shops are one of the main retailers that we can still pursue at our leisure without causing too much of a commotion. There is also the birth of the new type of business – the Lockdown Gardener called Doorstep Gardener, whereby garden centres were initially closed and persons were buying plants and seeds online. My local supermarket was the only place where I could buy plants and seeds at the beginning of the first strict pandemic lockdown but it was interesting to see the innovations online as well as in-store evolutions. There is also Pleydell Smithyman who offered a drive through ‘click and collect’ for plants.
The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body but the soul
– Alfred Austin
The environment and outdoor spaces are a major part of our wellbeing and mental health factors. I have really enjoyed my local walks in residential areas of my neighbourhood, as well as venturing to some of the greener spaces. You can be assured that you will have lots of space to social distance with the added benefit of seeing beautiful nature. There is also evidence that we enjoy green spaces, meeting friends and family outdoor and use them as places for relaxation. For those in urban areas, the pandemic has been bitter sweet. We are able to enjoy a quieter city but if you lack access to green spaces at home, the parks and communal spaces have been really busy during this lockdown period. Apparently, there are 10% of Londoners who have moved to the rural areas as there are more opportunities to work from home with less commuting time and costs. This BBC article ‘How Covid have changed where we want to live’ in March 2021 explains some of the reasons why Covid-19 have impacted on property sales and moves out to the country.
Last week, I also went outside of my local area for the first time since December to visit Hatfield House Garden, which was about 50 minutes away from my home. It was reasonably priced for the garden visit and I have been meaning to visit even thought I have driven through Hatfield hundreds of times on my way to Bedford. Hatfield House Garden was the childhood home of Elizabeth I of England and apparently, she received the news of her accession to the throne whilst reading a book under an old oak tree. It was a lovely woodland and ornate garden, as well as a show of vintage cars on display. The walk in the woodlands, the sundial and hew hedges were interesting to see. The Old Palace is still used as a function hall and it was fabulous to see it being used for Indian weddings.
On our walk at Hatfield House, we actually bumped into 88-year-old twin sisters who were friendly and spoke to us on our walk. They conveyed their love of walking in the woodland park and local gardens to find what was interesting to watch and talk about. They were really special and sweet to share this with us as it is exactly what I do too! We wished each other a good day and safe journey to our homes.
I am looking forward to visiting some more outdoor spaces as the weather gets better such as Beth Chatto’s House in Colchester. When I am able to, I am hoping to visit Trinidad again to see family but, in the meantime, visiting places of relaxation and natural beauty are some of the few pleasures I am looking forward too and the green shoots of Spring seem to symbolise so much hope.
Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul.
– Luther Burbank.
Connecting the Dots 