There is no doubt that gardening is healing. Immersing ourselves in the smaller details of sowing seeds, pruning, picking and even dead heading, are ways to focus our minds, or mindfulness.
Walks in nature, a garden visit with friends, or a session pruning are all great ways to escape from the news. But we can make our gardens even more powerful places to remember by planting things that mean something to us or to friends or family. Most gardens have plants gifted by friends or family that have become garden favourites. These prized cuttings evoke memories from days gone by, of special moments and precious people.
In memoriam
Planting something in memory of a loved-one is a powerful ritual in the process of grieving and processing a loss. Rosemary for remembrance is a good place to start. The powerful properties of rosemary are known to heal the memory, but the plant itself is also planted in an act of commemoration.
Sometimes we can choose plants named after the person. As we reflect on her love of gardening, there are several plants that have been named in the honour of our late Queen. To mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee for 2022, David Austin Roses named a rose after Her Majesty; Rosa ‘Elizabeth’. It’s a beauty, with clusters of large, apple-blossom pink flowers that fade gracefully to a blush white. The flowers are abundant with a strong, sweet fragrance with hints of sherbet and old rose. It’s a repeat flowerer and very healthy and the perfect plant for a garden container or as a special feature in your garden.
Quiet Reflection
Our gardens can be a place for quiet reflection away from the news and anything that we find difficult to process. Make a space somewhere on your plot for a chair or a bench where you can sit and relax, read or meditate. This can become your special place. It might be a summerhouse, or a clearing beside a tree or just a small corner of your plot, but make it yours. Have a cushion or a seat cover handy that you can throw over the seat and transform it into your special place. Plant some herbs in a pot or planter nearby to add fragrance to your space. Choose herbs you love to cook with or that will make a refreshing tea. Add another planter of flowers to bring your place some vibrancy and if possible add a light, a lantern, a solar string or just somewhere to light a candle. Shining light into darkness helps lift our spirits and gives us a focus for our thoughts.
Plant a tree
Whether it is to mark a birth, a marriage or a life, planting a tree is a powerful ritual in so many ways. Over her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II planted more than 1500 trees all over the world. As part of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the former Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, launched The Queen’s Green Canopy campaign. It’s a unique tree planting initiative created to mark The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 and invites people from across the United Kingdom to Plant a Tree for the Jubilee. It’s a poignant way to remember a loved one and a perfect way to commemorate the life of our late monarch. If you have space in your garden or within your community, plant a tree to be part of this beautiful legacy in honor of The Queen’s leadership of the Nation.
Special Exhibits
For the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee a special exhibit was staged to mark the occasion. Natural Perspectives created by floral designers Veevers Carter was a sculptural, immersive floral installation that was timely food for thought. Its canopy of flowers inspired by the colours and hues of the Scottish landscape near Balmoral Castle framed a layered floral portrait of The Queen crafted from dried flowers.
It was a snapshot in time, a food for thought moment and now a very poignant memory within what has become a very turbulent and emotional Jubilee year.
Gardening for hope
There is no doubt that planning and planting in our gardens brings us hope. In the words of Audrey Hepburn “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” When we plant perennials, trees and shrubs we expect to see them establish and flourish. Their presence in our gardens gives us hope that we have improved our plots and added new interest and depth to our borders. Gardening is a privilege. If we have a garden we are blessed and if we are able to garden and plant more in our gardens then we are creating something we hope to enjoy for years to come.
Give yourself something to look forward to and plan a visit to a local garden, a county flower show, or even a ticket for RHS Chelsea. Maybe it’s something you could share with a loved one and make some new and precious memories that you and they will remember fondly.
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