DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

GARDENING WITH ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland written in 1865 by Lewis Caroll, is one of the most well-known books of all time. Alice’s understanding of logic and convention is contradicted entirely by her experience in the chaotic, shape shifting setting of Wonderland.

A garden too, is a wonderland teeming with surprises around every corner. In the garden, the only constant is change. Saplings grow into big trees, roses bloom and fade and seasons come and go.

How can we as gardeners prepare ourselves for the adventure of gardening?

• Take care of your soil. The soil is the building blocks for your garden. Healthy soil cultivates a healthy garden. Try to limit tillage which disturbs the beneficial organisms in your garden. Be generous with mulching.
• Make sure you feed your plants regularly. Healthy plants will be more pest resistant. Where possible use organic fertilizers. Organic fertilizers will feed you plants and at the same time condition your soil.
• Let nature take its course. Do not be too ridged in your garden. Allow it to develop in its own direction. A garden is never perfect.
• Anticipate change. You might have a big tree that is nearing the end of its life. Plant another tree next to it so that by the time the old tree is dead there will be another one there to take its place.
• Encourage different creatures to make your garden their home. Every organism in your garden has a place in the food chain. Allow them to do their work.
• Embrace the passing of time. A garden is not an instant creation. Let it develop and grow in its own time. Rushing around like the White Rabbit with a pocket watch is not going to speed up the processes in your garden.
• Free your inner child. See the marvels of your garden through the eyes of a child. Take note of the small things and the little surprises that your garden has to offer. Smell the scents, see the colours and hear the birds.
• Go with the flow. Gardening is a journey and not a destination.
• Have a Tea Party. Make time to enjoy your garden and the fruits of your labour.

‘O Tiger-lily,’ said Alice, addressing herself to one that was waving gracefully about in the wind, ‘I wish you could talk!’ ‘We can talk,’ said the Tiger-lily: ‘when there’s anybody worth talking to.’

Alice was so astonished that she could not speak for a minute: it quite seemed to take her breath away. At length, as the Tiger-lily only went on waving about, she spoke again, in a timid voice – almost in a whisper. ‘And can all the flowers talk?’ ‘As well as you can,’ said the Tiger-lily. ‘And a great deal louder‘ It isn’t manners for us to begin, you know,’ said the Rose, ‘and I really was wondering

Join us this Friday  4 November 2022 for our FREE online workshop on: ‘Winnie the Pooh and the company of bees’, with Garden Guru Sue Both. 

Please use the following login details to join us at 11am sharp over Zoom:

Meeting ID: 863 2568 9794

Passcode: 993030

or use the following direct link: https://bit.ly/3TwjmMx