Nature vs Time

Do you find that you use nature to document the passing of time?

I often think about how we watch a plant come to life in spring, produce flowers during the summer, only to slip back into dormancy in winter. It returns the following year as if nothing has changed, even though we have. So much in our lives can change - from jobs, to people coming and going, we move house, and most unmistakably, we age.

Nature has become my quiet calendar and I find that there are particular seasonal moments that remind me that time is always moving, not in an unforgiving way, but steadily passing.

My personal marker is the giant sycamore tree in the communal back garden. Each morning, as I dress, I watch the tree from my bedroom window. In spring, I observe the first small buds, which soon open into zesty lime-green leaves. By summer, it’s a full, glossy canopy, shading the street and giving squirrels and wood pigeons a place to live and play.

I watch autumn arrive whilst the days shorten, leant on the windowsill - noticing the first few leaves fall, until the tree is a skeleton. But, a forgotten landscape reappears and I can see into the neighbours gardens and enjoy a new view, marking that another year has passed.

A good reference to seasons passing with time is the Notting Hill scene, where Hugh Grant’s character, William, walks through the seasons. A pregnant woman appears at the start, autumn leaves blow around him and the rain falls. Then the scene moves into winter with Christmas trees and a snowy carpet, before shifting to spring with the inevitable tulips and springy flowers for sale. By the end of the scene, the woman who was pregnant at the beginning returns, yet this time, with a new baby in her arms.

Fall Song – Mary Oliver
Another year gone, leaving everywhere
its rich spiced residues…

Nature is a gentle reassuring presence as time moves forward, almost nudging us on and reminding us everything will be ok. The sycamore tree in our garden has been growing for more than fifty years, offering a constancy, and most likely, it will remain for many more years to come, perhaps outliving me.

Yet, although nature is constant as a whole, plants come and go - some live only a single season, then something new will fill the space and all will balance. So its worth considering, if a tree can lose its leaves in autumn, enter dormancy and renew in spring - I should be able to move through life without judgement or hurry and be treated with the same gentleness too.

Something else which has made me think even more about the passing of time in nature - I’m seven months pregnant, with a sweet baby due in March.

Now, when I look at the tree, I feel different somehow. By the time the spring buds open, I’ll have a baby in my arms, and we’ll watch the new leaves grow together.

My purpose, which has always been nature, will shift. Of course, having a baby is a natural process, a part of life’s cycle, but my purpose will shift in form, and I will be able to see nature in a new light, reflected in the life I am helping to take care of.

Gardener’s diary

We have officially entered winter. I still have a few more Leucojums and Narcissus ‘Tete a Tete’ to plant and am patiently clearing the last of the leaves.

Rose pruning season has begun, so I have been training roses up trellises, pruning away any dead, disease or damage, carefully cutting away any crossing stems with clean, sharp secateurs, pruning to outward facing buds. David Austin has an abundance of rose pruning videos if you want to try pruning your own - the window for rose pruning is open from December - end of January / Februrary.

Sadly, I am having to cut off roses in full flower, however, I always make a note to give these stems to the clients. The rose above belongs to one of my favourite clients - she always makes me a cup of tea and even bought my baby to be a little gift.

Specialist Rose Sculptures

I have a colleague who has trained with Jenny Barnes (check out her instagram), she specialises in making rose sculptures to enjoy during the dormant seasons. Hopefully next year, I’ll take on a course if baby allows!

A lot more information can be found on lovely gardener, Naomi Schillinger’s blog, ‘Out of My Shed’, who attended one of her iconic courses.

As always, thank you for reading and a small bow to my paid subscribers. It really means a lot that you take the time to read my ramblings and I hope you enjoyed it <3