Looking forward
Looking out at the little wallflowers I grew from seed and planted out yesterday.....I find myself reflecting on the fact of how therapeutic gardening is. Having suffered chronic clinical depression a number of years ago, my mother remarked how she knew I was on the road to recovery after I had done the simple act of planting sweet pea seeds. How right she was.....as by planting that single packet of seeds...for the first time in a long time (at that time)....I was looking forward, with hope and expectation. What caused this shift in my thinking.........a mixture of medical interventions and ?? ......... I don't think anybody will ever fully understand. Suffice to say it is without doubt I do struggle at this time of year, the short days, long nights. But I do keep reminding myself of what is to come.....that everything changes, as such, nothing stays the same. Just as the seed will grow, flourish and die, with a little nurturing, this cloud of depression too will come and go, as it does each Autumn.
Happy gardening peeps.
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Sounds like you need a SAD lamp Mary!
I was researching them earlier today, before I saw your post, and they were the topmost recommendation from the Seasonal Affective Disorder Association. http://www.sada.org.uk/index_2.php
Seriously considering getting one for myself, as I have noticed how much more oomph I have on bright sunny days, whatever the time of year, than I do on dull cloudy ones. Oomph seemed to leave me altogether for a couple of months last winter, when I could have used the time more profitably and just knowing that is bad for self esteem and unhelpful too.
But you are right about gardening, and it is good to have things to look forward to: I planted an Amaryllis on Monday, there are hyacinths to do today, little crocuses for pots outside and some reticulata iris, and by the time those are ready the snowdrops and Hellebores will be starting to flower. And by Feb/March you can start thinking about seed sowing, of things that take a long time to germinate or grow slowly like lobelia, antirrhinums and petunias, and then suddenly it's all systems go with sowing , pricking out, potting on, planting...
And of course, next year is the one when the garden will be absolutely amaaazing
Too right. Sowing seeds and planning next year's flowers and foliage and edibles is such a positive action it has to infiltrate the darker recesses of our psyche. Working in the garden is therapeutic on so many levels too and, maybe, we can even just sit and enjoy the view sometimes.