How quickly things change. The coronavirus is spreading fast causing some selfish people to panic buy which has left many supermarket shelves empty. Schools closed on Friday.On Monday evening the announcement was made that we are now in lock down. This means severely restricted movements for everyone, keeping a safe distance and many shops and other businesses are to close or have already closed. Garden centres and nurseries are in the category as being non-essential and should close.I would argue that gardening is necessary for many people, it can restore ones health, it can be productive with fruit and vegetables and is recognised as a form of therapy for many.

Like many people I’m still trying to get to grips with these huge changes and am trying to work out what to do and how to survive this dreadful time. At work yesterday morning I wandered around looking at all the plants which are ready for sale but couldn’t find any motivation to do anything. This is a rare state of mind for me….there are always jobs which need doing, weeds to weed, plants to water, plants to pot on or divide or take cuttings from. A whole garden which still hasn’t had all the clearing and tidying. Some of the annual seeds sown last week are germinating which would normally be so exciting but I’m thinking it’s all a bit pointless at the moment. It began to dawn on me that I don’t just do this work in isolation, it is inextricably linked to the interaction with customers and garden visitors. Incidentally, the garden too is closed, the National Garden Scheme also announced that on Monday. I guess this raises another question, do I only produce plants and keep the garden looking good not for me but for the feedback I get from customers/garden visitors? Just to do it for my pleasure would seem to be insufficiently satisfying.

I’m struggling to find many positives right now. The sun is shining which helps make us all feel better, the ground is drying out, himself is even beginning to think about getting the mower out. I saw butterflies too. We are very fortunate to live on site in this beautiful part of Warwickshire in the middle of the countryside. People who live in flats or big cities will find this self isolating much harder.

I intend to write this more often to keep as a record of these terrible times.