Heroes Not Zombies

I’m no gardening expert. I’m not even very knowledgeable about plants. But I love spending time in natural environments. As I’ve got older I’ve become ever more interested in the vegetable kingdom.

Back in my teens and twenties I was interested in ecology, joining Friends of the Earth, and reading books like “Limits to Growth”. Then as a GP I became a member of the British Holistic Medical Association, following a direction of travel towards holistic care with more of a focus on human beings than on the rest of the natural environment. I began to learn homeopathy in my thirties and as many of the remedies were prepared from plants those studies furthered my interest in and knowledge of ethnobotany.

Well, now in my sixties, I have a garden which has a wooded area. It’s really not big enough to be called a forest but I’m calling it one all the same! It’s very, very overgrown with ivy, brambles and creepers, but I’ve already forged some paths by cutting back and removing tangles of thorns, then mowing a route through the ivy. I’ve planted a few shade loving plants and here’s one of the first to flower – a wood anemone. Isn’t it beautiful?

My little forest is bringing me great joy. Some days it’s hard work, other days sit on a lounger in a clearing, listen to the birds and watch the branches of the trees high above swaying in the breeze.

Maybe I’ll learn a bit more botany and horticulture, maybe even learn more about the relationships between certain plants and human beings, but, mainly, this is a space which nourishes me.