Daydreaming of a new garden?
Gardens are blessings. In times of profound crisis, paired with anxiety about our future and fear about our health, a garden provides a space to feel safe and protected. A garden nourishes the mind, body and soul.
For centuries gardens have helped to heal and provide sanctuaries for people. Over the years our profession has helped by creating fabulous outdoor spaces mainly for entertaining and relaxation, for children to play and for families to come together.
‘A refuge in times of trouble’
The current crisis, with the need for social distancing and instructions to stay at home, has opened our eyes to just how much more gardens contribute to our lives: they really are essential for our mental health and wellbeing!
When we garden we become fully absorbed with the task and experience a feeling that goes way back to childhood to days of innocence and wonder and losing track of time. When we garden we completely immerse ourselves into nature. Even people who have never gardened before will find themselves gradually being drawn outside and begin to see nature all of a sudden from a different angle – with new found appreciation.
My desire to become a garden designer was born out of personal grief and loss. Feeling lost in the world I knew, I very soon discovered that surrounding myself with nature had a calming effect on my mind. Later on I started working in my own garden and realised that this was actually good for me – it helped keep me sane.
I have never looked back since embarking on a career in garden design and I am proud to bring happiness and joy into many peoples’ lives through their new garden.
‘Small changes make a difference’
Very often I change ‘just’ a few plants, create new borders and all of a sudden bees and butterflies come back humming and twirling around in joy. Just watching this spectacle is fascinating not only for the children, but for the adults too.
‘Exploring our gardens…’
The ‘big’ design jobs change the whole layout of a space, creating areas of different interest that interact with each other. A meandering garden path that invites you to explore the previously neglected back corner in a garden, is now brought back to life maybe as a ‘secret garden’. Or a den for the kids to hide in, or the perfect place for a hammock to relax and read in.
The corona virus crisis is teaching us about life on many levels. The lock down has forced us to slow down in our movements and subsequently this has an impact on our environment. We hear the birds singing, the noise levels of cars and planes have reduced, the air feels fresher and cleaner and the sky is an unusually clear blue. We are watching the seasons change and want to work the soil – sowing seeds, nurturing growth and reconnecting with nature.
It does help that we are in Spring and not in Autumn and it is almost as if this virus is telling us to re-connect to nature, and that we need to make every effort to protect nature as well, as it is not only important to provide fresh and clean air to breath, but also enables us to both heal and stay healthy.
‘The healing qualities of nature’
When we tend to our gardens we heal. Where there is grief there is comfort. Where there is stress there is relaxation. We slow down, we listen to the birdsong and breathe in the air – particularly atmospheric after summer rain. We watch the robin pick up the worms after we have hoed the soil. Our senses are being evoked on may subconscious levels, often transporting us into the innocence age of early life where we felt safe and protected.
No matter how big or small our gardens are, they connect us to the landscape that lies beyond. They help us to find space to pause, inhale and expand our minds.
‘Enhancing and promoting these qualities’
We as garden designers want to bring all of this into our creations. We want to enhance the natural beauty and create a sense of paradise. We work into the soil to tame nature and create spaces to help people recapture the joy of daydreaming and playing. Because that doesn’t stop with the end of childhood, but is a big contributor when it comes to mental wellbeing in adult life.
Let us help you create a new garden for you and transport beauty and serenity into your lives.
‘A great time to invest ‘
For more than a decade I have designed and built many beautiful gardens which have aged very gracefully giving the owners joy and happiness throughout the seasons.
A garden is an investment into creating a place of personal identity and tranquility, a haven, extending our homes that protect and buffer us in difficult times. We invite you to work with us to explore opportunities and develop a garden design solution which is perfect for you!
‘Gardening is not cancelled!’
The design studio continues to be open during these unprecedented times and we are taking on commissions locally including East Molesey, Oxshott, Cobham and Weybridge.
Check out my projects on my website and if you like what you see just give us a call 020 7018 5207 or email Christine@greenardendesign.com