Dear LPG readers,

Are you one of those people who only ever ventures into your garden when it needs tidying up because it looks more like a jungle? 

I have lived in my home for over 40 years, and I moved in with a husband who had gifted green fingers. However, I now live alone and venture out into the garden a couple of times a year (when things are terrible). Since I retired, I have found many pressing things to occupy my time.  I think that retirement can send everyone who crosses that threshold to either a lifestyle that remains as busy as it ever was or a life that changes from manic to one where there is little to do overnight, although I know that it is not quite that black and white.  I remember finding it quite liberating to do very little during my retirement honeymoon period, and that can be a slippery slope.  The fact that there were so many more things that I could avoid doing because the consequences only affected me gradually took over, and I very quickly became quite lazy.

It was not until so many people (including me) were forced to spend months at home a couple of years ago that I even bothered to examine how objectively neglected my back garden was.  For some reason, when the only views of the outside world repeatedly include the state of your garden compared to the ones on either side of its fence, the sight makes you realise how much help it needs.  

That was when I started on a bit of a tidy-up, and once I got out in the sun (and even on those greyer, cloudy days), I found myself spending a bit longer out there on each occasion.

It only takes a bit of success with one or two plants to get you putting in a few more, and there is something relatively peaceful about caring for something that only complains when it starts wilting.  

It is so bad that I sometimes sit out there to admire my handiwork, and even though I suspect that few people would notice the difference if I were not there to point out my little successes to them, I can see it. 

I have proudly offered my grandchildren rhubarb crumble with a filling that once lived in my ‘veg patch’, and I have to say that getting a bit of rosemary or mint from my garden to season the odd dinner dish is unique too.  I also cannot explain the moments of pride I feel when, on a spring day, my garden is no longer the only one that does not have a daffodil or two popping through as I glance at the line of gardens from my upstairs bedroom window. 

Somehow, time spent with my plants, be they flowers or herbs ready for the cooking pot, has slowed me down, given me a reason to chat over the fence with neighbours, helped me to breathe a bit of relatively fresh air more often and given me time to forget all those day to day problems that habitually cloud my mind.  At the same time, I concentrate on my little green friends and being out there has also forced me to take advantage of a bit more vitamin D (after all, if it starts raining, the safety of the back door is not far away).

I feel the need to remind all LPG readers who have one, that there is something really calming about communing with the green.

I know that there will come a time when I have to get someone to substitute for me, but I would like to remind all those pensioners who have one which could be described as a bit overgrown that just doing a little something out there each day could make all the difference to the space and your outlook…

OG, Dartford

OG offers a few online ways to get started…

(►►►)   (►►►)   (►►►)  

…and LPG follows with a few reasons why getting out there will benefit you and the garden.

(►►►)       (►►►)     (►►►)       (►►►)