Exploring the garden & local area during lockdown

Kelcy Davenport

Kelcy’s Flowers

Previously I hadn’t dedicated much time or thought to our garden and frankly it felt like a struggle just to keep the grass down between teaching, studying, parenting etc. Once we started spending so much time at home during lockdown it felt as though the hours in the day had expanded giving me more time for other things.

Due to the lovely weather we were spending a lot of time in the garden. I started to notice how bland it looked and wanted to bring more colour into it. I began by picking up bedding plants with our weekly shop and once the garden centres opened some herbs and shrubs and a few colourful pots.

I dug two new beds which was really satisfying and took far less time than I had imagined. The planting involved some trial and and error which means some areas have worked out better than others but I’ve learned a lot in the process, e.g. planting bedding plants on top of bulbs due to impatience will create a mess! Other rookie mistakes will hopefully be easy to turn into positives, e.g. a friend has advised me that many of the jam-packed plants in the new shrubbery can be split in Autumn to create more plants in a bigger bed.

Exploring the local area

We feel really privileged to have been able to enjoy many aspects of lockdown, especially developing a newfound appreciation of how beautiful our local area is.

We’ve been so surprised by how many new cycling and walking routes we have found setting out from our house (where we have lived for 18 years), e.g. Jenny’s path from Hauxton Mill to Great Shelford and a spot for paddling in the woods at Foxton via Town Street in Newton.

We have also discovered other local beauty spots slightly further afield such as Royston and Therfield Heaths, the bluebell woods at Littlebury Green and Hardwick, and the poppy fields at Whittlesford and Duxford.

The children have barely noticed the swimming pools being closed having discovered they much prefer paddling and swimming in the River Cam and in the sluice behind Newnham Common, Ashwell springs, and Grantchester.

I particularly have enjoyed having the time to focus on my own health and fitness. Working mainly at a desk each day I hadn’t realised how little exercise I was doing until I had more time. Now a daily 4 mile walk is a part of my routine I am committed to keeping.

Amazingly our village and our local area feel so much bigger than before!

This page was added on 09/10/2020.

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