The big chill
The supermarket can be a great place to go for cool, air-conditioned air. It was a 30 degree afternoon in March when I said to the woman at the checkout that I was looking forward to winter. She looked horrified. How could anyone think such a thing? Summer for her had ended too soon.
Maybe being born in winter has something to do with a love for the colder months. But really, as a gardener it’s the change of season that inspires me. Without a winter chill to knock pest populations, summer bugs would be so much worse. Without winter we wouldn’t have cherries or apricots, or the awesome spring flowering shrubs and bulbs that depend on winter for flower initiation. Without winter we wouldn’t have spring.
In the garden winter slows everything down, including the weeds. There is time to clean and tidy, to plan and plant in preparation for another spectacular spring. With the garden at its barest we can see gaps that need filling and not so pretty bits that need fixing. The more planning, planting and pruning we do now, the greater the rewards in spring.
Winter’s cold air is invigorating and a sunny day spent outdoors is never more delicious than it is in July. Winter’s downside is its shortness of day. The ‘winter blues’ or worse, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), caused most likely by a lack of sunlight, is at its most prevalent in winter. Exercising outdoors is one sure way to lighten a heavy mood, even if it’s a quick lunchtime walk in the park.
While there is no substitute for the real thing, creating something of a garden indoors is good for body and soul at this time of year. As Eden, our Real Gardener this issue says, green makes you happy. Plants also purify the air. A weekend wander around the garden is a chance to gather bits of nature to brighten indoors. That way we can still enjoy our garden even when its dark outside. We offer some ideas for a picking garden on page 16.
As it happens, a garden filled with great things for winter vases is also likely to attract native birds (page 24). And as most of us could attest to, connecting more with nature is one of the best tonics for a positive state of mind.