2020 – It’s a Wrap!
We hope that you’re reading this with your glass half full of something suitably Christmassy as you relax into the holiday season.
For as crazy as 2020 has been, we couldn’t let this year wrap up without sending our very best wishes for a Merry Christmas whatever you’re up to. We also wanted to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being part of this small but growing Garden Escape readership.
Whilst none of us would wish for a repeat of this year, it’s high time to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for.
Gratitude multiplies.
The more we give the more we receive. So, we’re passing on our pick of our top 4 reasons to be grateful right now.
Kindness of Strangers
2020 has brought us together with a shared experience. Granted the circumstances could have been so much better.
Powerful connections have been made close to home and across the globe. Communities have banded together like never before.
We were humbled to hear from Linda – a Malvern Garden Building garden studio turned sewing room owner – who rallied around a small army of seamstresses to repurpose her quilting fabrics to make scrubs for the NHS.
Our gardens have been central to this new sense of community. They’ve come into their own helping to build resilience and create bonds as neighbours come together to help each other.
A good, healthy garden is full of diversity laying the groundwork for a society that follows suit.
This incredible collective action is something we hope can be taken forward into the new year and beyond.
Healing Power of Plants
Over the past year many more of us were won over by the stress-relieving benefits of nature. Gardening has never been more popular whether we’re plotting victory gardens or creating leafy interest as a backdrop to virtual meetings with an indoor plantscape.
Our friends at Indoor Garden Design have been doing great work supporting Project Wingman. The charity brought together grounded airline crew to create ‘first class lounges’ to provide some respite for hospital staff during the pandemic.
This in turn inspired our ‘wobble room’ exhibit for Virtual RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
As many of us admirably rose to the work from home challenge, Indoor Garden Design developed new lines just for home office plants and launched a nationwide delivery service called In-Tray Plants.
The pandemic has changed gardening forever. A surge of new gardeners is bringing new ideas to the world of horticulture. We look forward to seeing where this renewed enthusiasm for the past-time and have-a-go spirit leads us in 2021.
Nature’s Reset
Cast your mind back to spring and scenes of dolphins supposedly returning to the canals of Venice and goats running amok on the deserted streets of Llandudno in lockdown. As we all stuck to the rules and stayed home, we found hope in the stories of nature flourishing.
For a time during the first lockdown the birds seem to be singing louder, the air smelled fresher and grass appeared greener.
The beauty of nature is a constant source of inspiration. We’re thankful for all the visual reminders that nature endures come what may – we loved seeing this footage shot by our customer Charlotte Bezzant of the swan family resident in her garden, attempting to break into her jewellery making studio. We also think back to this image of a cunning fox sitting pretty on the table of a customer’s Breeze House… looking right at home!
Whatever happens next as we fight to control the virus, let’s be grateful for the opportunity to reset and plan for the future we want.
Backyard Boozers
It’s been a particularly tough year for the hospitality industry. We’d like to celebrate every ingenious pivot made to keep the English pub alive and kicking so one day we might enjoy a carefree pint and a scrummy Sunday lunch in the company of family and friends.
Last but by no means least, we salute the Malvern Garden Building owners who’ve created backyard boozers and pop-up cocktail lounges. Our favourite has to be the Dunn Inn – a garden shed-cum-local. It wins hands down for authenticity with optics, drip trays, a beer garden and two very happy regulars.
We’re grateful for our gardens and the safe spaces they afford us. A bolthole to savour a cheeky pint or in our bubbles around a firepit…where would we be without them?
