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When the garden starts to wake up in spring, I can’t wait to blow the dust off the lawnmower and tidy up the unruly grass but- much as I love my garden with its plants and pots, bushes and begonias and well-kept lawn- this year I’ve let it grow.
There aren’t too many opportunities in life that give you licence to be lazy whilst also taking the moral high ground, but “No Mow May” is certainly one of them, and knowing I’m doing my little bit for the environment by not cutting the grass, the mower is now locked away in the shed until June.
Already a floral carpet has started to appear with delicate purple flowers pushing their heads up through the blades of uncut grass and reminding me of parma violets, those childhood sweets that reminded me of my granny and the lavender bags that she hung in her wardrobe.
Dandelions
Delicate dandelions that scatter their windblown wishes up into the clouds are flourishing too alongside chives and nasturtiums, fancifully grown for salads, as are bright yellow but-tercups that I hold under my chin reminding me of long, hot, sunny childhood days of la-dybirds and daisy chains.
The butterflies flutter by, landing gracefully on the dazzling dahlias that open their faces to the sun as the bees busily go about their business, spreading word through the local flora and fauna community that my garden is a safe haven; as my feathered friends, perhaps feeling more at home now nature is, once again, back in charge, flock to eat their fill from the wooden bird feeder that hangs from the cherry blossom tree.
The dogs are finding exciting new places to dig and bury their bones and whilst the granite stepping stones that criss-cross the lawn are staring to vanish under the grass, I can still find my way and, with no grass to mow, I can also find more time to chat with my neigh-bours across the unclipped hedge.
As I scattered wildflower seeds into the cracks and crevices, I thought about that verse in the Bible that reads, “Consider how the wild flowers grow... if that is how God clothes the grass of the field... how much more will he clothe you.”
A lovely thought as I sit in my garden, my little piece of heaven: a space where I can sow the seeds of love and watch them grow.
Kate Durrant can most-often be heard on RTÉ Radio One on Getting a word in Edgeways. She is excited to be sharing her thoughts with readers of Irish Country Living. Editor of The Muskerry News and Kenmare News, Kate loves dogs, gardening and writing – in no particular order.
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