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 weedingsqueezed 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 FORFive-minute
gardening“I started
spending five
minutes every
day, tackling
something with
purpose”GARDENINGLITTLE 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 weedingsqueezedinrightattheendoftheday,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 FORFive-minute
gardening“I started
spending five
minutes every
day, tackling
something with
purpose”GARDENING