This weekend, the Sunday Times Style magazine published a gorgeous, glossy feature on interior designer Rose Uniacke and her house. After a couple of pages I had envy induced IBS. It wasn’t the stone staircase or the converted ballroom that got me. The vintage bath overlooking a cherry blossom lined street merely caused a mildly painful gaseous emission. It was the indoor glass ceilinged garden, festooned with lush green plants and creamy blooms, which made me weep bilious, bitter tears, as well as triggering a wave of stomach cramps.
Gardening is hot. According to Lloyds Bank, more 25-34 year olds than ever before are getting their green on. A few are homeowners looking to increase the value of their property, but over a third just bloody love it. It helps that celebrity gardening has gone beyond Alan Titchmarsh – we all saw Zooey Deschanel posing with her massive marrow.
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But the A-listers are only figuring out something that our parents, and their parents, have been saying for years. According to Guy Hands, men over the age of 50 prefer gardening to sex (although not as much as TV). Teens in Brighton are voluntarily spending their summer working at a local allotment. As far as fads go, there’s something sweet and inspiring about all of us coming together and working at the soil.
Keen gardener and mental health worker Anna says, ‘As people become increasingly aware of the importance of mindfulness, it makes sense that gardening is catching on. There’s no instant gratification in the garden. You can’t rush growth. You have to commit to working with and respecting nature, on its own terms.
‘You’re not going to get what you want in an afternoon, either, which makes the results all the more pleasurable when they appear. They represent seasons of hard graft. When all other elements of work and life move so fast, gardening is seasonal and steady.’
Gardening chimes with several trends. As well as the mindfulness moment that Anna mentions, it works with our foodie culture and our keenness to eat well. When we grow our own vegetables, we know exactly where they’ve been and what we used within the soil. And for skint twentysomethings who want to make temporary houseshares a bit cosier and more permanent, buying a pot plant is one way to make your digs feel like home. Jaye, 24 says, ‘I started off with some supermarket basil, and now I’ve added lavender to the collection, as well as having a tiny indoor tomato plant. I’m always broke, and can’t really justify getting a pet, but it feels good to have something to take care of and keep alive. The plants give me a sense that I’m getting my shit together. And they’re lovely to look at. Seeing them blossom and bud makes me really happy.’
Rather than nursing my serious garden jealousy, I’m inspired to start small and see if I can prove myself with a couple of potted plants. Maybe one day I’ll have a gorgeous space like Rose Uniacke’s, but hopefully the act of learning how to be green fingered will make me calmer, more patient and less likely to become green with envy.
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Picture: Rory DCS
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.