As you know I love a garden. Taking time out to visit a garden that has been professionally kept and maintained is one of my life’s great joys. Not just to be inspired and to admire the techniques and methods of the professional craftsman looking after these gardens – the gardeners, but also to learn about the garden’s stories and history of the garden from the collaboration of the owners, the designer and the gardeners. Gardens are multi-complex – they bring joy and wellbeing and can provide food and beauty.
Our gardens serve multiple purposes. They are not only aesthetically pleasing retreats, but also functional spaces that foster sustainability, encourage wildlife, and sometimes even provide sustenance. They have become a canvas for expression, where gardeners apply their creativity to combine form with function, often in the face of spatial or financial constraints. The focus on sustainability and eco-consciousness has led to inventive uses of recycled materials, from repurposed planters to creative water conservation solutions.
But these gardens often are woven with family history and mementos, be it painted pebbles from grandchildren, plants given on Mother’s Day, or Sunflower plants planted by children as a school project, they are places of wellbeing, joy and beauty.
BBC Gardeners World is a weekly staple and for me, one of many positives that I like to think that came out of COVID-19 was the new segment of visiting “real” people’s gardens. They are not perfectly manicured or designed. But, they are perfect in the way that they give comfort, feed families and provide space, the bringing together of families, and joy, from the beauty of the plants planted, memories honoured and happiness to families and communities. I love the realism, the recycled use of items, the joy and pride at plants and flowers grown and the happiness on the faces of the gardeners of their patch. And so to this end, I am taking time out this year to visit “real” gardens and what they mean to people, how they bring joy, pride and wellbeing. I love the honesty of them and the stories they tell. This is the reason I love gardens.
Gardens are the mirror of our souls, unveiling the essence of our being through the choice of every flower, shrub, and stone. They are deeply personal spaces that articulate our relationship with the environment, our aesthetic preferences, and even our approach to life. A meticulously organised garden, with its geometrically arranged flower beds and neatly clipped hedges, might reveal a person’s love for order and symmetry. Conversely, a wild, nature-friendly garden bursting with indigenous plants and buzzing with wildlife suggests a gardener with a passion for biodiversity and a penchant for ecological sustainability.
The diversity seen in UK gardens reflects the rich tapestry of cultures, histories, and individual stories that make up the fabric of our society. Gardens become the platforms where personal heritage and cultural identities are intertwined with the native flora, creating spaces that are as unique as the individuals who nurture them.
Moreover, the evolution of a garden over time chronicles the journey of the gardener. From the enthusiastic planting of a novice’s first seedling to the confident strokes of a seasoned gardener pruning back overgrown foliage, each action in a garden maps the growth, learning, and experiences of its caretaker. It’s a living diary, open to the skies, that captures moments of joy, sorrow, and contemplation.
In crafting our gardens, we engage in dialogue with nature, learning its rhythms and respecting its limits. This ongoing interaction fosters a sense of stewardship for our planet, urging us to think beyond the boundaries of our own garden. Thus, our gardens do more than just showcase our identity; they embody our hopes for a more sustainable and interconnected world, where nature and humanity flourish side by side.