A GIRL WITHOUT A GARDEN

There is one thing for sure. I'd better be getting a garden soon or I think I might wither away. It is no surprise to me to hear that the gardening world in England increased its numbers by over 3 million during the pandemic, as people found that gardening was something they could do even in a small place. Also, an increase in people growing house plants.  Even the medical profession is advising gardening to improve mental as well as physical health. 

 Since the end of August I have had no garden and I am beginning to feel an overall sense of desperation to get outdoors. With temperatures touching on 100° almost every day I snatch only an hour or so outdoors in the early morning to walk.

We have taken up temporary accommodation in an hotel in a very built up area while we wait for our apartment at the end of the month. I did think of bringing over a few plants but quite honestly there is barely room for us, let alone a few plants. I looked longingly at the flowers the other day and then realized all the vases were packed away in storage. And I glanced over the cactus at Whole Foods and was very tempted to buy this fuzzy no-name little beauty. But, no, I must wait.

 

Even the apartment to be has only a small patio, with  room enough for just a few plants. But that is just a stop-gap until we find where we want to live. The one thing I feel quite sure of is that next time my gardening skills will be honed in the desert.

You can't be a gardener without your eyes turning constantly to the ground. Right now I am having a hard time with what I see out there, much of it due to the unusually cold winter.  The loss of plants everywhere was staggering and it continues. Much has yet to be dealt with and I hate seeing it. I walk out of my room and this is what I see. I can barely hold myself back from putting on my gardening gloves.....I have no idea where they are... and getting to work freeing up this poor agave from its winter damage.

And although there is beauty in the skeletal remains of this prickly pear this is what greets me every morning when I walk to breakfast. 

Fortunately there are a few simple things that help to keep me grounded on gardening. The first is looking at photos of gardens on Instagram. As most of the people I follow post about their gardens and others fill the pages with beautiful photos of the outdoors it goes a long way to bridging the garden gap.  I am still reading A Vision of Eden, by Marianne North, and the amazing travels and botanical record of this middle aged Victorian lady. One day I will see the collection of her paintings at Kew Gardens.

But most of all I am hooked on my garden podcasts and TV garden shows, almost all of them emanating from the United Kingdom. Well, I still consider myself English. At the moment I am watching the Chelsea Flower Show 2021, and cannot get enough of it. I just won't let myself binge watch the episodes as I need to spread them out over a couple of weeks. I always watch Gardeners' World with the charming, down-to-earth,  Monty Don  and his pups, and listen every week to Gardeners' Question Time and Gardeners' Corner, with David Maxwell. 

Throughout the year Gardeners' World has been introducing us to viewers who sent in videos of their own gardens. Some were of children who has been denied their usual pursuits during lock-down and took up growing seeds. I thought they were wonderful. And Chelsea this year has several exhibits of balcony gardening. It's amazing what you can do with a little bit of creativity. They are certainly thinking of the gardener who is just starting out. And when it comes to design my favorite program is Garden Rescue, with Charlie and the Rich Brothers. If you are looking for ideas for your garden this is the place to look.