What is a garden for?

So many of us have gardens but do we use them to their fullest? Do we have a garden which reflects us or the people who lived there before? Is it dictated by what we expect we should do with it or do we experiment with what we really want? Do we have one which has been developed over the years by the needs of children and pets, or do we have one which gives us peace and relaxation? Is it designed to ‘keep up with the neighbours’ or is it a quiet peace of heaven designed specifically for us?
It’s a question I have been pondering this past month as I have looked out on the garden I inherited from a couple who had created it from scratch back in the 60s.
I have got rid of the small pond so common in those days, and I have changed the ‘patio’ area so it has simple lines and is more spacious than before. I have removed one of the walls they had to retain some of the earth but beyond that, is it really my space or is it something I have accepted as inevitable from the predecessors?
Looking at the front garden, little as changed except for the ‘old age’ ramps, rails and grab bars disappearing. It is flat, drab and lifeless.
I ask the question does the front garden reflect the owner of the house? Does yours? If someone was to look at the front of your home what would it say about you? Does the hallway in your home continue the garden approach or is it a sudden jolt of difference? Does your style reflect the house, reflect the garden? Is the outward ‘dressing’ cohesive?
When we think about the house, do all the rooms reflect the same persona? Or are there parts of the house you would be ashamed for someone to see because they are not what you would consider ‘good enough’? And if that is the case why has it been allowed to continue as ‘not good enough’?

In many ways the house and garden will reflect the completeness within our own nature and personality. Areas where there is chaos reflects the chaos which is inside. The number of people I have worked with who have reached moments of lucidity in their situation ending up clearing out cupboards, or tidying book shelves; almost as if they are reflecting in physical action the inner sorting that is going on.
When I look at the front garden here, it makes me wonder what it is reflecting in me. It is tidy and there is a lovely array of flowers which blossom for the majority of the growing season. There is, however a large area of poorly managed grass which although is well cut and edged, is weed bound and in desperate need of …. well something! If I were honest I would say it is reflecting an inability to move forward in something, because there is an inability to move on here.
I can hear you say, “Yes but it might just be that you haven’t got round to it, or its not that important in your life,” and you may be right, from your perspective, but just stop and think a minute, how much time and money do you lavish on the inside of the house? What is different about the outside?
Give yourself a challenge this year; look at the front approach to your home and think what you could do to make it reflect you and your family more. Add flower baskets or tubs and make the approach to your front door one which will delight people and make them anticipate you and your home. As you plan the front, think about how this can translate into the rooms and bring it all together.

Give yourself the challenge of making your home start at the end of your drive and then sit back and enjoy the well being you will get every time you pull onto you drive and step out into an extension of yourselves.