Garden Guilt

Why do I always feel guilty when I go out and do some gardening. There is no such feeling when I am inside and pottering about or outside and hanging up the washing. But as soon as I pick up a trowel or pair of secateurs in the garden then I start thinking about all the household tasks that need doing. And I think that that is the nub of the issue. Although garden designers talk about garden rooms and extending the house into the garden and garden into the house not all of us consider our garden as part of our home in quite the same way. This must partly stem from us only being able to fully use our gardens for part of the year. It may also indicate a mindset that gardens are for leisure and luxury and do not form an important part of family life. Yet you can do everything in the garden you can do inside and more. There is no reason why the time, energy and resources you spend on your garden should not be equivalent to those spent on other rooms in the home.

Perhaps if I think in terms of hoovering the lawn, dusting the borders, and cleaning and tidying the plants my guilt will disappear.