This Is Why I Garden

I only got into gardening a few years ago. My mum has been a lifelong gardener and tried to attract me to it as a child and then as an adult, but it just wasn’t for me. I could appreciate a garden looking nice and when we moved from our flat to a house in our late twenties, I wanted our first garden to look pretty. I just had no interest whatsoever in doing it!

Then I don’t really recall how it happened, but at some point three or four years ago, I started to get into gardening. It might even have been this blog that did it, as I read other bloggers sharing posts about their gardens and started to think more about mine. If it was that, then I’ve yet another reason to love my blog and be grateful for all that it’s given me, as gardening is now one of my favourite pastimes.

As I look at this photo of my garden, taken this week, my eyes flit to each and every plant, naming them, mentally pruning them, recalling when they were put there or planning to move them come the autumn. I’ve loads to do out there and that’s OK. That’s what I am learning about gardening, that it is never finished, it is always changing and evolving, and that’s what I think I like most about it.

I am not generally considered to be a particularly patient person, and I am the kind of person that likes to see jobs get finished, items ticked off lists, tasks completed. Yet where the garden is concerned, I can be patient, I enjoy waiting and watching it flourish. I know that it won’t be finished, I know it’s a constant work in progress, but I can satisfy that need to be productive by getting jobs done out there, small parts of the bigger picture.

When I am out there, whether I’m moving things around, putting in new plants, or simply weeding and pruning, I feel relaxed. Often aching, but somehow still relaxed! I like just sitting out there and taking it all in, I like walking round it and checking to see how each flower is doing, breathing in the different smells. I enjoy redesigning sections, planning what needs to move and and I love choosing new plants.

My mum is my gardening guru. She knows more about plants and gardening than anyone else I know and she is always supplying me with cuttings of anything that I see and like as the chances are that she already has some and she’s very good at splitting plants or taking cuttings from them. We like to chat and plan together, she is part of all of my gardening designs and spends way longer than she really should helping me out there. I am slowly learning more and more from her, and I hope that one day, in the very distant future, I can be of use to her in her own beautiful garden when the work gets a bit too much. But until that day, I will definitely be making use of her skills here!

Gardening makes me slow down. Gardening forces me to be patient. Gardening gives me a sense of achievement, a sense of satisfaction. Gardening is there for me whatever my mood, whether I need to take out frustrations hacking down a shrub or whether I need a little quiet time as I water it of an evening. My garden makes me smile, and is yet another reason for me to love the summer.

What about you? Do you enjoy gardening?

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6 thoughts on “This Is Why I Garden”

  1. You’re garden is lovely, I love seeing the photo’s you post on instagram of flowers and plants. I had never even cut grass until a few years ago but now I love keeping our gardens nice and tidy. I’m hoping to plant some flowers next year and start cultivating a prettier garden for us to enjoy at the moment it’s the kids domain.

    1. Thank you so much. I do love it out there and am often pottering about doing this and that. Look forward to seeing what you choose next year then!

  2. I love the idea of gardening but we only have a concrete back yard and a few bushes in the front. There isn’t much to garden. Hmmf.
    Your garden is beautiful! x

    1. Ah, that’s a shame! There are always pots, planters and climbers you could try if you fancy it. Thanks very much x

  3. How lovely that you’ve finally fallen for it. I’m still waiting for that to happen! My dad used to spend all day in his garden, just pottering, but I’ve never had the inclination at all. For me it’s a real chore to keep on top of it, and though I do appreciate a lovely garden, I don’t have the motivation to create one. Hoping it will kick in some time soon!

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