I don't go to therapy, instead I garden. It keeps me calm, I can work through all my issues and have imaginary arguments in the greenhouse where no one can hear me and I always win. The plants respond well to the attention and there are weeks when I spend more time nurturing my seedlings than my family.
The other advantage of gardening is meeting other gardeners, who are all too willing to share their interest in growing things and often give you stuff, in the form of cuttings and bits of leaf to identify. This weekend we went to the Garden Gadabout in a very sunny Brighton where we met some fabulous enthusiasts eager to share their green spaces.
We saw a number of interesting trends…..
The new shed- everyone's got a fancy room-in-the-garden shed, with sofas/internet connection/curtains
Vegetables in raised beds….everywhere but everywhere
Potatoes in bags/containers…apparently easy and prolific
Beech sticks as wigwams for climbers (prettier than bamboo)
Chickens….who have their own fancy coups if they're lucky
Seating areas….loads of them everywhere
Recycled boxes/tins/sacks are the new pots
Mosaics, from small to complex, black and white or multi coloured.
Creating your own seed packets and hand drawing the floral fronts.
Cakes, it seems all gardeners can cook cakes and make excellent lemonade
Here are some of the highlights of our visit (all pics expand if you click on them). Brighton's gadabout is also open next weekend too.