“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.” – Gertrude Jekyll

It’s spring in New Zealand where I live and that, for me, means gardening.

I love getting my hands dirty. I love watching seeds pop through. I love witnessing plants growing. I love enjoying the beautiful, scent-filled flowers in my garden. I love picking fresh vegetables each day to eat and nourish me.

As Gertrude Jekyll states “a garden is a grand teacher”.

We learn so much from our gardens … if only we choose to look and learn.

To take time to ‘smell the roses’. And even if we don’t have roses, to stop and enjoy the beauty of nature, of plants growing, flowering, fruiting, yielding beautiful edible crops for us.

For me, it’s a real treat and a privilege to learn from my garden, whilst also enjoying it immensely.

Despite being not very patient by nature, in my garden I know that I can’t rush mother nature.

I have to wait and see whether the seeds I’ve sown will germinate and grow.

I have to patiently await the first bloom on a new rose bush to see if it lives up to the description that attracted me to choose that particular rose over the others on offer.

I have to trust that the vegetables and fruits I choose to grow will produce a deliciously edible crop for me to harvest and enjoy.

“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.” – Alfred Austin

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