Why gardening is so much more to me
My family is one of the lucky few to have an allotment in London. Hidden in Stockwell, ours seemed like a haven far away from the bustle of the city – and as I child, I loved it.
As the child of an adept florist, plants and gardening have always been a big part of my life. Whether it’s an impressive arrangement of flowers stuffed with eucalyptus leaves, or an array of plant shoots, herbs or flower clippings, it always seemed inevitable that my mum’s love of plants and gardening would rub off on me.
Growing Club was a beloved after-school activity; nothing filled me with wonder quite like visiting those giant, humid greenhouses in Kew Gardens. And Ground Force was the best makeover show television had to offer, in my eyes.
What became a Sunday afternoon treat filled with picking vegetables, watering seeds and eating seasonal berries, soon became a chore the older I got.
After all, allotments and gardening weren’t cool, none of my friends gardened and the trendy botanical aesthetic that we millennials now love so much wasn’t in fashion when I was 14.