The_Simple_Things_-_March_2020

(Dana P.) #1

LITTLE BY LITTLE


OWeeding – Headphones,
podcast, pair of gloves and
one small patch of earth.
I take an achievable area


  • perhaps a metre square

  • and I don’t look up,
    otherwise I’ll see the
    rest of the carnage.
    O Re-pot your houseplants

  • If you slightly increase
    the size of their pots, they’ll
    have everything they need
    to keep being fabulous. I
    use peat-free multi-purpose
    compost mixed with perlite
    or grit for drainage. Choose
    a slightly larger pot, and
    tuck your friend back into
    its new home, dampening
    everything once you’re
    done, to give roots the
    message that they can
    spread out now.
    O Plant out forced bulbs

  • Have you got hyacinths
    languishing indoors? Don’t
    throw them away, try
    re-planting them outside.
    O Bend climbing roses
    downwards – Now is the
    time to spend five minutes
    tying roses’ still-soft
    stems to whatever
    they’re climbing against.
    A downward trajectory
    encourages more flowers.


W


hat is a garden
act ua lly for? When I
began fiddling around
w it h pla nt s back in
my mid-20s, I’d spend
time among my pots
in the container garden I’d created on my
tiny balcony for the sheer joy of it. The space
became somewhere where I could retreat
and a place in which I could connect with
my friends. My little green oasis was
fulfilling its role completely and perfectly.
Fast forward a few years and I had a trio
of small children and a larger garden, but
somewhere in all the hubbub, I’d forgotten
what my garden was for. I
didn’t have time to spend in
it and it got away from me.
Brambles appeared, nettles
abounded, fences started
falling into disrepair. I’d
park the kids with someone,
and spend hours and hours
trying to ‘sort the garden
out’, only to find a few
weeks later that I was back
where I began. It became a
source of guilt. I started going to the park
instead of stepping out into this space I had
once loved, because it felt too overwhelming.
I needed to change the way I gardened, so
I decided that instead of trying to carve out
large tracts of time in my busy life, I’d go out
and do something minuscule every day. Rain
or shine, I started spending five minutes
every day tackling something, speedily and
with purpose.
I’d pick random things – the quickest,
easiest things first, and then I began to take
on larger endeavours, five minutes at a time,
over a period of days. Sometimes I’d get
caught up in the moment and find I’d
actually done an hour. Often I’d do less than
five minutes – three minutes of weeding

squeezed in right at the end of the day, or
two minutes of dead heading snatched while
the children weren’t pawing at me. After
a couple of months, I looked outside and
realised that this approach was working
far better than I could ever have imagined.
The garden was inviting again. Finally, it
was doing the job for which it was intended


  • to be a happy space for my family to enjoy.
    So if overwhelm or lack of time is
    preventing you from enjoying your outside
    space, it might be worth trying an outdoor
    foray in that moment between your first
    coffee and brushing your teeth, or that tiny
    space that miraculously appears between
    walking through the front
    door and starting supper.
    One of my favourite ways
    to do my five minutes is to
    go straight into the garden
    when I return from school,
    work or meetings – my coat
    never comes off. All you’re
    doing is creating a habit.
    The tricky thing about
    the garden is where to
    begin. For me, it’s always
    been the first thing that I see that needs
    tackling. It could be that pot of gone-over
    winter bedding – I might want to rush over
    and yank that out. Or it could be grabbing
    a broom and sweeping the terrace. Perhaps
    the neighbour’s clematis is impeding my
    path – I might feel like snipping that back.
    Or it might simply be picking up a damp
    cloth and wiping the leaves of my indoor
    plants. The important thing is to begin,
    because at some point in the very near
    future, you’ll look behind you and realise
    how far you’ve come.


Laetitia Maklouf is author of The Five
Minute Garden: How to Garden in Next to No
Time (National Trust Books)

IF YOU’RE SWAMPED BY YOUR OUTDOOR SPACE, LAETITIA MAKLOUF
HAS A PLAN WE CAN ALL FIND TIME FOR

Five-minute
gardening

“I started
spending five
minutes every
day, tackling
something with
purpose”

GARDENING

LITTLE BY LITTLE


OWeeding– Headphones,
podcast,pairofgloves and
onesmallpatchofearth.
I takeanachievablearea


  • perhapsa metresquare

  • andI don’tlookup,
    otherwiseI’llseethe
    restofthecarnage.
    ORe-potyourhouseplants

  • If youslightlyincrease
    thesizeoftheirpots,they’ll
    haveeverythingtheyneed
    tokeepbeingfabulous. I
    usepeat-freemulti-purpose
    compostmixedwithperlite
    orgritfordrainage.Choose
    a slightly larger pot, and
    tuck your friend back into
    its new home, dampening
    everything once you’re
    done, to give roots the
    message that they can
    spread out now.
    O Plant out forced bulbs

  • Have you got hyacinths
    languishing indoors? Don’t
    throw them away, try
    re-planting them outside.
    O Bend climbing roses
    downwards – Now is the
    time to spend five minutes
    tying roses’ still-soft
    stems to whatever
    they’re climbing against.
    A downward trajectory
    encourages more flowers.


W


hatis a garden
act ua llyfor?WhenI
beganfiddlingaround
w it hpla nt sbackin
mymid-20s,I’dspend
timeamongmypots
inthecontainergardenI’dcreatedonmy
tinybalconyforthesheerjoyofit.Thespace
becamesomewherewhereI couldretreat
anda placeinwhichI couldconnectwith
myfriends.Mylittlegreenoasiswas
fulfillingitsrolecompletelyandperfectly.
Fastforwarda fewyearsandI hada trio
ofsmallchildrenanda largergarden,but
somewhereinallthehubbub,I’dforgotten
whatmygardenwasfor.I
didn’thavetimetospendin
it andit gotawayfromme.
Bramblesappeared,nettles
abounded,fencesstarted
fallingintodisrepair.I’d
parkthekidswithsomeone,
andspendhoursandhours
tryingto‘sortthegarden
out’,onlytofinda few
weekslaterthatI wasback
whereI began.Itbecamea
source of guilt. I started going to the park
instead of stepping out into this space I had
once loved, because it felt too overwhelming.
I needed to change the way I gardened, so
I decided that instead of trying to carve out
large tracts of time in my busy life, I’d go out
and do something minuscule every day. Rain
or shine, I started spending five minutes
every day tackling something, speedily and
with purpose.
I’d pick random things – the quickest,
easiest things first, and then I began to take
on larger endeavours, five minutes at a time,
over a period of days. Sometimes I’d get
caught up in the moment and find I’d
actually done an hour. Often I’d do less than
five minutes – three minutes of weeding

squeezedinrightattheendoftheday,or
twominutesofdeadheadingsnatchedwhile
thechildrenweren’tpawingatme.After
a coupleofmonths,I lookedoutsideand
realisedthatthisapproachwasworking
farbetterthanI couldeverhaveimagined.
Thegardenwasinvitingagain.Finally,it
wasdoingthejobforwhichit wasintended


  • tobea happyspaceformyfamilytoenjoy.
    Soif overwhelmorlackoftimeis
    preventingyoufromenjoyingyouroutside
    space,it mightbeworthtryinganoutdoor
    forayinthatmomentbetweenyourfirst
    coffeeandbrushingyourteeth,orthattiny
    spacethatmiraculouslyappearsbetween
    walkingthroughthefront
    doorandstartingsupper.
    Oneofmyfavouriteways
    todomyfiveminutesisto
    gostraightintothegarden
    whenI returnfromschool,
    workormeetings– mycoat
    nevercomesoff.Allyou’re
    doingiscreatinga habit.
    Thetrickythingabout
    thegardeniswhereto
    begin.Forme,it’salways
    been the first thing that I see that needs
    tackling. It could be that pot of gone-over
    winter bedding – I might want to rush over
    and yank that out. Or it could be grabbing
    a broom and sweeping the terrace. Perhaps
    the neighbour’s clematis is impeding my
    path – I might feel like snipping that back.
    Or it might simply be picking up a damp
    cloth and wiping the leaves of my indoor
    plants. The important thing is to begin,
    because at some point in the very near
    future, you’ll look behind you and realise
    how far you’ve come.


Laetitia Maklouf is author of The Five
Minute Garden: How to Garden in Next to No
Time (National Trust Books)

IF YOU’RE SWAMPED BY YOUR OUTDOOR SPACE, LAETITIA MAKLOUF
HAS A PLAN WE CAN ALL FIND TIME FOR

Five-minute
gardening

“I started
spending five
minutes every
day, tackling
something with
purpose”

GARDENING

Free download pdf