Pottering About & Lockdown Encouragement

It looks like our run of sunshiny weather has come to an end, at least for the time being. But I have to say that I do enjoy a good rainy day or two. The earth and my garden are in need of quenching water.

Those pots are full of sweetpea seeds. I'm hoping that they will scramble over the garden shed this summer

I'm always amazed at how therapeutic it is to spend time outdoors. At the moment we don't get to venture too far from the house so I am very grateful for my garden. I'm able to get outdoors and just rest in the peace of the day and enjoy pottering about in my garden.

Major cleanup going on here!

We've spent a lot of time in the garden, more than what we ordinarily may have been able to spend. This weekend we cleared out a lot of undergrowth, weeds and last autumns fallen leaves out of one flower bed to make way for some new plants once the garden centres re-open of course. 

I have earmarked my hellebore bed which I will plant up over the summer in readiness for a display in the winter months. I love hellebores and my garden does not feel quite complete without a good few. The range of colours you can get is amazing so I'm glad I have a good space to plant numerous plants. 

My sweetpea seeds are coming along nicely and a planted a few more pots of sweetpeas over the weekend. I'm really looking forward to this summers display.

We also put up the gazebo over the weekend. The sides will only be fastened on later on in the season but we have put up the fairy lights and we are looking forward to being able to dine out in the evenings when the temperatures warm up a bit.

DH has started on his latest DIY project which is to refurbish the wrought iron garden furniture. The last time this was done was 9 years ago so it is in dire need of a good old sprucing up!

Before moving into our home I had bought two of my favourite plants that my garden simply cannot be without. I feel that they denote the season and I look forward to their seasonal displays each year. It adds to the atmosphere of the season in my mind. 

The first of those has to be the forsythia. Each spring its bright display of flowers is simply a delight. I love to bring twigs indoors in late winter to force in vases. My garden does not have a forsythia shrub so I'm glad I bought one. I found a perfect spot for it to live over the coming years and am looking forward to watching it grow in stature.

The second plant I bought was a Virginia Creeper. I first spotted this delightful plant one autumn whilst travelling through the peaks from our home in Chesterfield to our fortnightly homeschool art class with our dear family friends who live in Manchester. 

It covered the side of a quaint stone pub in one of the villages, a mass of firey colour. I instantly fell in love with this plant and knew that one day I would have to have one and be able to stay in a home long enough to see it come to such maturity.

My creeper has been sitting outside my front door in a pot. I couldn't quite decide where I wanted it. The bare stick slowly came into leaf as spring has progressed. I had noticed that our garage had some sort of creeper trailing over one wall and over a third of the roof and wondered what it might be, honeysuckle perhaps? 

As it too began to come into leaf I noticed that the leaves were identical to my Virginia Creeper! I was thrilled! I now have two of these delightful autumnal plants. I have since planted my Virginia Creeper at the back of the hellebore bed to trail and cover the back fence and I will get to see it grow to maturity! Delightful!

Gardening is so good for a healthy outlook, especially at this time in history. With the world in turmoil and the future unknown, it can be overwhelming. But when you start looking at how nature just carries on and thrives it gives hope that everything is going to be okay. It calms anxious thoughts and keeps your hands and mind busy - away from the busyness of fretting. Gardening also provides us with fresh air, vitamin D from the sunshine and exercise which releases endorphins naturally boosting our immune systems and improving our outlooks. I'm grateful for my garden.

I am reminded to take joy in the small things that come our way. Watching the bumblebee visit each flower in turn to collect pollen. Or perhaps watching the cat stretch out in delight in the sunshine. Observing how the water droplets from a recent shower sit delicately on a flower or leaf. 

There is much to enjoy in each moment and learning to tune into these small joys helps to get through these rather strange days. 

I know that many of you may be struggling in our shared global circumstances but as our dear Queen said in her moving lockdown speech a few weeks ago, "We should take comfort that, while we may have more still to endure, better days will return; we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again."

What a wonderful inspirational woman! I just love her and am so very proud to be British!

So my lovelies, if you are feeling a bit blue please remember that every season has its time and each season gives way to the next in its turn. Be strong, trust our Lord and delight in the things that he sends our way in each little moment.

Blessings in Christ...