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    What is a garden for? Some thoughts.


    April 13th, 2019 - Popular posts, small garden ideas, what is a garden for?

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    I’ve been thinking about what a garden is for and will present one idea in each short blog over the next few weeks.

    By garden I want to include any space outside your home where something grows.  It could be a window box, balcony, pot by the front door or a garden of any size.

    Looking outwards from inside.

    I think a garden is there to let us sit inside and look outwards, outside of ourselves, both literally and metaphorically.  This can help to give a perspective on our worries,  especially first thing in the morning.  If you can, have your morning cup of coffee looking out of a window. It works for me anyway.

    I am very lucky to have some garden front and back and I’ve placed chairs by all the windows so I can sit looking out all the year around.

    Here is the view out the front window to the garden between us and the street.

    London cottage garden view

    View of the front garden through the window

     

    Here is the view from the back windows

    backyard London cottage garden

    What I look out on every day of the year

    So if you’re daunted by what to do with a big garden space you could think about not bothering with the whole garden and that bit down the end where no one ever goes (if you have a long garden).  Just have a window box or a pot of something green, something growing, or a bird feeder to look out on just outside your window and help yourself to look outwards into the world.

    In my next post I will look at the use of the colour green.

     

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    15 comments on "What is a garden for? Some thoughts."

    1. Barbara says:
      13th April 2019 at 10:06 pm

      Lovely post and such a nice idea too.

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        13th April 2019 at 10:08 pm

        Oh thankyou very much for such a nice encouraging reply.

        Reply
    2. Anne says:
      13th April 2019 at 10:14 pm

      Very encouraging to the unconfident gardener – thank you 🙏

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        13th April 2019 at 10:15 pm

        Hello! It was you I was thinking of when I wrote it. Xxx

        Reply
    3. Beverly says:
      13th April 2019 at 11:17 pm

      I like your views….especially the back with the table and cute little house. Green is my favorite color of all time …there are so many different greens in the world of Nature.

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        14th April 2019 at 7:09 am

        Ah I think you are looking at the shed, which is jam packed with junk and I can hardly move in there but it does look cute especially when the clematis comes out an covers the window. My next blog will be about green and yes it is the best colour of all isn’t it.

        Reply
    4. Cindy says:
      14th April 2019 at 1:44 am

      I love how you can sit and look at your gardens from your windows. I had never really thought about that before. I can see my gardens, but don’t have seating for just viewing.

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        14th April 2019 at 7:07 am

        Thankyou Cindy. Maybe you can turn a chair round and sit looking out at the garden for a while. It’s easy once you think about it. Gardens even look lovely in pouring rain don’t they.

        Reply
    5. Flighty says:
      14th April 2019 at 2:26 pm

      Nice post and pictures. One of my few regrets is not having a garden. xx

      Reply
    6. Torrington Tina says:
      15th April 2019 at 1:12 pm

      It is a lovely post and the views from your windows front and back are beautiful. I can see how you might ring the changes through the year with pots of plants, one can never have too many!

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        20th April 2019 at 9:56 pm

        Thanks for your comment Tina.

        Reply
    7. Francesca says:
      17th April 2019 at 2:10 pm

      Brilliant thoughts and some lovely photos to accompany them. Your point about looking outwards from inside is so true and sums up why gardens can be so important to people. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        20th April 2019 at 9:55 pm

        Thanks so much for your comment Francesca, and happy to hear my thoughts resonate with other people.

        Reply
    8. Caroline says:
      17th April 2019 at 9:48 pm

      Have just discovered this website and so looking forward to seeing and hearing more!
      Caroline

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        20th April 2019 at 9:52 pm

        Oh thanks Caroline, how lovely to hear that. There will be more through the summer, I usually post about every 2/3 weeks. Best wishes, Julie

        Reply

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