Gardening Doesn't Come Naturally To Me

Gardening doesn't come naturally to me. I'm not all green thumbs like my paternal Grandparents or my Mum although I do like to walk around barefoot and feel the grass beneath my feet. 

It takes real effort for me to do the things that I need to do in the garden to keep it looking nice and not an overgrown jumble of weeds (although I do keep some areas like this on purpose).

Sure I know what this plant is and what that plant is, but only because of the patient teachings of my Grandparents as they pottered around their garden and I'm sure because they told me countless times what this plant is, and what that plant is and somehow like names of birds these things stuck.

I know what to plant and when thanks to the internet, handy guides on the back of seeds and snippets of the tv show Gardeners World and the radio 4 programme Gardeners Question Time. 

For the most part, Flyfour lets me do what I want with the garden. He had ideas, of course, plants that he likes but generally, he's in charge of mowing and I'm in charge of growing. 

When I made my list of things to do in the Easter break, I made one of my things "Garden". It wasn't just about weeding the beds, or the drive or cutting back some of the plants in the garden, it was about spending time in the garden, it was about cleaning the deck and the patio and the Selmao, it was about enjoying the space that we have been working hard to create.

And I have.

I've spent time in the garden, pulling stray strands of grass from the beds. Marvelling that the Hydrangeas hadn't died as I had worried all winter. Seeing the Clematis already growing and climbing and almost ready to flower.

I've wandered around the garden barefoot, I've sat in the sunshine listening to Birdsong and the distant hum of a lawnmower. I sat talking on the phone to my Mum and my friends. I've listened to music and eaten my meals, drank my tea and just enjoyed being in one of my sacred spaces.

Maybe I am better at Gardening than I realised.