…. That your garden, or outside space, whether it’s a windowsill or a vast swathe - has a purpose, and that purpose is to SERVE you.

Here are the ways in which I need and expect my garden to serve me:

1. It should bring me and my family joy

2. It should bring me and my family peace

3. It should be a retreat from the stresses and annoyances of every day life

None of this means that my garden should look a certain way; if my space is tidy and minimal and that brings me happiness and contentment, then that is the garden for which I should strive. But if I find those same feelings as I enter or sit in my wild, overgrown patch (which is more likely), then that’s fine too.

Too often in the past, my garden was a source of anxiety, as I looked longingly into it and wished it were all different. When I finally analysed my own feelings and realised that it had become the polar opposite of what it was supposed to be, I knew things had to change. I decided to change the way in which I tended my space, (doing enjoyable little snatches of five or ten minutes each day, rather than entire days every month or so), and began to enjoy my garden again.

It took a while for the garden to show these benefits, but in my head and my heart, the change was instant. Yes, it happened overnight. My garden was fulfilling its purpose once again, and I could relax and enjoy it.

I don’t expect many to read this post - it’s not giving you a recipe or practical steps, or telling you how to prune your roses, but to me it’s infinitely more important than anything else I’ve ever posted here, because after all, why do we garden? What’s it all for? Why do we bother spending time taming nature to our whims if not to create a space in which we can be joyful and calm?

So this new year, ask yourself whether your outside space is serving you as it should, and if not, then perhaps it’s time to find a way in which that can become possible…?

Happy 2019 to all of you my dear friends

xx Laetitia