- It takes time
Every element of gardening should take time – but not in a bad way. Take your time deciding what you want to plant, big design decisions and well general pottering & general gardening jobs. There isn’t a rush and there isn’t any rushing Mother Nature – she’ll bloom and grow whenever she feels like blooming and growing. Weeds included.
I remember moving here and everyone telling me to give it all the seasons before making any drastic changes or planting anything. Seeing how the garden behaves as it moves around each season, seeing how you live in the space, much like you do inside your home. Heads up – they were right!
You plant bulbs in the Autumn for Spring colour, you can plant the smallest little shrub and will wait a year or two for it to flourish. Give it time and some love and in my case, some luck and it’ll all work out in the end!
- Some things you do will fail
I am as determined today as I was when we came and viewed the cottage to have a cut flower bed or 10. Sadly, my cut flower bed this season is just a handful of gladioli. Yes, they’re incredibly beautiful but I can’t cut them to bring them in doors without making the garden look sparse – so I’ve left them for another year to the bees and the birds (not a bad thing). We spent a lot on bulbs and seeds but sadly, this time around I just couldn’t make it work. But the best thing about gardening? I get to try over and over again!
It’s okay if projects aren’t absolutely perfect – the point is – you did it, All you.
- You’ll learn A LOT
About yourself, about horticulture, about garden centres. There is quite literally so much to learn there is no way you can learn it all but that’s fine!
I tried to remember everything people would tell me – Mr M’s grandparents, family friends, my dad but there really is too much to remember and started writing everything down in a journal. My advice real quick? Try and categorise your notes or make them into some kind of order. Mine are a jumbled mess and the regret is real.
- The garden never sleeps
There is no hiding from the connections between mental health and gardening and just because it’s the deepest darkest part of winter doesn’t mean you can’t go out and potter about. Fill the bird feeders, give a quick garden tidy, sew some seeds in pots ready for Spring. Your garden no matter the size is incredible. Even with snow on the ground you it’s still working and there is still little jobs to be done. Get your face out of a screen (like reading this HA) and go outside. Potter until your hearts content.
- It’s really forgiving
This one is the biggest of all the lessons for me. If you plant a bulb upside down, your fence isn’t dead straight, there is gaps in your borders it really doesn’t matter. The bulb will forgive you and probably grow anyway, the flowers will distract from the wonky fence and as for the gaps in the borders they’re pretty boring to look at and the birds and visitors would rather be looking somewhere else.
All in all, I’ve learnt a lot over the past year and I’m thankful my garden’s looked after me as much as I’ve attempted to look after it. It doesn’t matter the size of your space just put a little love into it.
What have you learnt from gardening? Do you have an outside space you look after?
Thanking you for reading
Hannah x
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