The joy of gardening and how gardens are good for the soul.
I
came late to gardening even though I have had a garden for most of my
life. It has always been like an extra room;
a sitting room in summer and a spare guest room for the feathered visitors that
come with winter days. Although I have
gained much pleasure from the garden, as with any other room in the house it
must be kept tidy and maintained. So for
many years I viewed gardening as a necessary task until about ten years ago
when I began to enjoy the weeding and planting, the digging, cutting and
pruning. What changed? Due to stresses and pressures at work, I
began to see the garden as a refuge, an escape, and I found myself enjoying the
gardening as much as sitting and relaxing there. How I ever saw gardening as a chore I now
couldn’t understand. I have always loved being
outdoors and going into the garden means stepping out under the sky and into the
air but most of all, it is offers a myriad of sensations to experience and
enjoy.
When
I’m just sitting quietly in the garden
or doing some work there, the vibrancy
and beauty of the red roses, the citrusy freshness of the lemon ones, the hum
of the bees gathering the pollen from the foxglove bells, and the delicate
scent of the honeysuckle on the warm air reach me and I receive them joyfully. I watch the insects and the worms going about
their lives and see and hear the birds in the branches above my head. I see and
feel the textures of the different leaves and instinctively recoil my hand
under the prick of the holly or sting of a nettle. I feel the sun on my back or more often here
in Cumbria, the soft rain gently patting my face!
Actively opening our five
senses, keeping them ever alert to the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and
textures that surround us constantly brings happiness and dispels those feelings of lethargy and boredom that
can afflict us. We live in an artificial
world surrounded as we are by concrete, steel, pavements, covered shopping
centres, paved driveways and nature is pushed further and further to the edges
of our lives, physically and emotionally.
Sit
or dig in a garden, walk in a park, observe pots of plants in yards and on
balconies and really notice what is around.
Once we switch off the thoughts and concerns in our heads and open
ourselves to experiencing the moment, our senses can hone in and pick up all
the impressions and communication that nature is offering to us. A renewed sense of wonder is instilled as
the natural world displays some of its beauty and diversity.
I was wrong in thinking of the garden as an extension to the house,
another room. It is much more than that;
it is a universe with a life and aliveness that infuses my being, renewing and
invigorating the life within me. Utilising our senses fully means experiencing
the world about us. There is so much
beauty and wondrous things happening all around us, how can we ever be bored?
