Well, huh. So, this is really happening. We watched it start to happen on the news. We saw how other countries had started to respond, so it was only a matter of time – whether too late or not, I leave you to decide, before we were told: We’re on lockdown. A lockdown can be defined as an emergency protocol implemented by the authorities that prevents people from leaving a given area. Hmmm, so there goes our trip to Canada. My sister is going to provide me with regular updates as to our mother’s health, who at 90 lives not far from her in a care home. Working from home. Trips to the shops only for essentials. Wow, these really are unprecedented times. Thankfully, I have my garden. Last year I had a lot of ambitious plans for the garden. I was going to complete work on the shed, spend more time keeping on top of weeds and trimming hedges – even start to improve the state of the lawned areas of my garden. When I say ‘lawned’, what I actually mean is the parts of the garden that I’ve left to grass to satisfy my partner’s need to stretch out on the ground on a blanket in order to sunbathe. If I had my way there would be no grass, just more plants, plants, plants! For me, my garden is not only a sanctuary that brings me peace of mind and is an endless source for exercise – it’s my laboratory. This is where I can study a plants habits, learn about its likes and dislikes as I continue my horticulture and design studies. At times, parts of the back garden are a complete hot mess. In my estimation anyway. When I drag my partner outside for a ‘turn about the garden’, very Jane Austen me, and explain that this plant or that shrub will need to be moved, he just smiles benignly. ‘Okay, whatever you say, this is your thing’. When I ask him what his favourite plant in the garden is: ‘I like the green one’, he’ll say, pointing randomly in any direction. For now, I let him keep his patches of grass. Looks like I’ll have the time now to realise those ambitions for the garden this year after all…Keep happy and keep gardening.
