After seeing my bulbs sprout so early in the season, I can’t help but be reminded how soothing and healthy it is to be surrounded by plants.
January 29th first signs of spring!
Two weeks later flowers!
For years, gardening has provided respite for me. A natural antidote to the urban lifestyle I have grown accustomed to in London and Vancouver. Before I moved back to Vancouver, I had a veritable jungle in my small London flat. In the face of so much concrete, I became very interested in plants and growth. It wasn’t conscious, it became a passion. Nature filled my dreams and my house (in my case a VERY SMALL FLAT). And then when I moved back to the garden of BC all bets were off.
There is something about nature and having my hands in the dirt that brings me right back to myself. I settle and start to breathe. There is perfection in the chaos which I find reassuring. In nature, there is a complement between ambition and contentment absent in any other context and it reminds me every time that this balance is possible (although seemingly impossible in the go-go-go nature of human endeavour).
“When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as “rootless and stemless.” We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don’t condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.”
—Timothy Gallwey
So on that note here are three lovely reads on plants, their benefits, and how to incorporate them into your life.
- How to grow a vertical garden in your home (Canadian Gardening)
- How to grow fresh air (Ted Talk by Kamal Meattle)
- Plants increase productivity and happiness (The Guardian)
Urban clematis jungle