“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches us patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.” ~ Gertrude Jekyll

Dierama pulcherrimun (Angel’s fishing rod)

What a world we live in. A world that seems to be going completely mad and the future is looking like a very surreal ‘Monty Python’ sketch.The headbangers are in charge and the little brown nosers are propping them up, whilst many suffer due to their vile actions and words.

Watching the news in our house as it is in many other households, has become compulsory viewing. Although it is often a hard and sometimes harrowing to watch due to all the atrocities and political bullshit that seems to happen on a weekly/daily basis. Then you have all the environmental issues happening from around the world and of course the ones the press choose to ignore for one reason or another. My thoughts do go out to all the people caught out in the recent flooding in the state of Texas but does the press really have to give airtime to the ‘dodgy haired tosser’ and all his waffling bullshit but instead, why not give little more airtime to the many other areas from around the world that are suffering as well from our ever changing climate.

Trump, Brexit, May, North Korea (those in charge), European union and the many others, what do they really want and what is their desired outcome? Is it genuinely to improve life for the rest of us or just for personal and or financial gain? Or is it hate filled? Their need to destroy others either through military means or through the every day issues we all have to put up with. Society in general around of the world even here in the UK, just feels so wrong. The action or non action from those in charge and the blinkered attitude from those who, if they don’t see it, it isn’t happening and those who just don’t care. We all have to take a certain amount of responsibility of what is happening but the rot always starts at the top.

“Life is indeed a pleasant road
To those whom fortune blesses;
But ’tis a thorny path to those
Whom poverty oppresses.”
~James Lendall Basford

I previously put the likes of Trump, Brexit, May, North Korea and the European union together, I know they are all different but the one thing they do all have in common is that they are all ‘Fucking mad’!

Individuals, a withdrawal from a union, a group of countries or a rogue state, are all completely different but all very mad, dangerous but most of all completely detached from the real world. I also feel, none of them actually really care about the implications of their words or actions have, just as long their personal gain has been met.

Now Brexit is different and it is a term used for the ‘potential or hypothetical departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union’ but because it is in the hands of the politicians, this does make it ‘mad, bad and dangerous’, whatever your view on it is. Now I voted to remain and my view is still strongly that, although if you ever call me a ‘re-moaner’, you better duck very fucking quickly! I’m not a fan or even fully trust the EU but I certainly do not have any faith in our lot and I definitely didn’t like the basis on how and why Brexit was campaigned upon. Having been in the horticultural business for over thirty years, I do fear for the industry in a Brexit Britain, as it is a industry that has always struggled, even in the best of times.

I started the post off with a very well known Gertrude Jekyll quote. Not just because I am a gardener but I have often thought that this is the most, truthful, honest and accurate quote ever written and is the complete opposite to the above mentioned people. Thinking completely off my head and trying not to go down a completely surreal path but would they all benefit from and then of course us, if they took a leaf out of this quote? Or even to spend some honest time out in the world of the garden and actually listen to what the garden is saying…. properly listen that is. Because as us gardeners know, the garden is a wonderful honest place that is truthful but also it is not without its troubles but it does bring us happiness, honesty and above all…. hope for the present day and for the future.

Hope, peace and happiness is not far from us all but for the individuals and organisations that could make areal difference, I feel they are simply not looking or are just simply….not interested.