Daily details from the garden to bring you inspiration throughout the year
I catch myself in the ridiculous position of wishing time away, urging my garden to catch up with the images of other people’s snowdrops appearing day by day on my phone. It’s not a race. It’s not a competition of any sort, though I’m no stranger to feeling both envy at the apparent perfection of someone else’s garden, and shame at the state of my own. I suppose gardening can be about that, if you want, but it’s not any kind of gardening I’m interested in. So, if I’m to resolve anything for the coming year, it’s to kick garden envy in to touch, to stop apologising to myself for the perfect garden I’ve not managed to create, and appreciate the richness of the garden I have. Weeds, messy bits, and glorious accidents, the plants I’ve introduced and the ones that have found their own way there, the creatures we invite in and encourage as well as the ones we don’t (perhaps even the neighbours’ cats, though admittedly that’s stretching things a bit). Because it’s the ideas that haven’t quite worked that tell us even more about this ongoing process of being a gardener than when it all goes according to plan, and I’m never quite so grounded as when I’m out here, the breath of plants and soil washing over me, lost in dreaming and doing.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this daily series of blog posts, appearing just in time for breakfast in many of your email inboxes – I’ve loved reading your comments and emails along the way, and am so grateful for the support and the cheering on. If you’ve appreciated the effort, I’m going to make a shameless attempt to exploit your seasonal goodwill and suggest that you might like to buy me a virtual cup of coffee or two, which is something you can do here (and thank you very much for your kindness in advance)!
I’ll be continuing with regular (if not always daily) posts over on my Instagram account, so do follow me there, and the podcast is back, too. But for now, certainly for 2022, a blog post every day is one commitment too many, especially as I’m working on something quite exciting which – much to my immense frustration – I’m not allowed to tell you about just yet! If you’d like to keep hearing from me, I’ll be dusting off the monthly newsletter, so do sign up for that in the box below if you’ve not already done so (for data protection reasons, it’s a separate list from the one that sends out these #gardeninspo365 posts, so please don’t assume that if you’ve received a daily email from me, you’ll automatically get the newsletter). The blog will live on, albeit in a less predictable, more rambling fashion. I do hope to see you hear from time to time – but in the meanwhile, I’m wishing you bright days and good gardening weather, and a very Happy New Year!
A year of garden coaching
To find out more about my my 12 month online garden coaching programme, please visit the website, where you can read more details and add your name to the waiting list to be the first to hear when enrolment opens up again for the spring.
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Hello! I’m Andrew, gardener, blogger, podcaster, and owner of a too-loud laugh, and I’m so pleased you’ve found your way to Gardens, weeds & words. You can read a more in-depth profile of me on the About page, or by clicking the image above.
