Non-Gardening Granny of Van Riebeeck Park writes:
Readers of a certain age may well recall the childhood nursery rhyme “Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?”, to which the reply was “With silver bells, and cockleshells, and pretty maids all in a row”.
Well, my name isn’t Mary and I certainly don’t have “silver bells, and cockleshells” growing in mine.
What I do have, already, courtesy of the lockdown, is overgrown grass, plenty of weeds, and bushes and trees in need of serious trimming.
Why, readers may ask.
Because, like so many households – especially those with residents “of a certain age” or frail – we have used a garden service for many years, and as a consequence have no lawnmowers, spades, forks, shears, secateurs, edge-trimmers and what-have-you of our own.
The lockdown deems shops which sell these sorts of items as “non-essential”, so they are closed, thus – even if I were fit enough to operate or use many of them – I cannot currently buy them.
If, as has been mooted, the over-seventies need to stay in isolation until perhaps September, well, we can see some gardens needing a mass clean-up or blitz, in order to bring what by then would be a near jungle back to respectability. We know ours will.
When it comes to holiday time, eg Christmas/New Year, and Easter, when families tend to go away, householders are advised to ensure that their gardens are attended to, so that “the bad guys” don’t see overgrown gardens and realise that nobody’s home to tend to them.
Okay, so now, everyone is home and many are working from home, but many gardens are likely to be neglected.
