Summer Days in My Mothers Garden

In the season of summer especially, my mothers garden is one of my most favourite places to be. She has moved from several houses since I was young and each garden she has grown has always become a retreat for me, a happy place where I could feel calm and secure. When visiting her previous house in winter, my beloved morning ritual was to bundle up warm and take a hot cup of tea out to the garden swing to enjoy the serenity of the frosty garden.

Some of my most treasured childhood memories are days spent exploring the garden in the home I grew up in, I remember the modest vegetable plot, netted strawberry patch, flowers and plants spilling over the pathways, interesting furry leaves, a wooden plank walkway I'd always lift up to look for bugs. I recall an enormous flowering bush, mature fruit trees, things growing everywhere and lots of hidden spots. None of the gardens were huge, but they always feel that way to me because they burst with life. My mother is a keen gardener, she potters around planting and collecting things until the garden is transformed into a space of beauty. I believe her love of gardening is what has kindled the fascination with gardening for me, time spent in my mothers gardens in awe of nature has brought me to appreciate it and enjoy it myself.

Today in June as we visit her home, her garden is a sweet refuge of blooming flowers, tall slender ones, small voluminous ones, all in pots, planters and beds encompassing a central lawn. There are nooks and crannies, things growing where they weren't planted, a little wilderness and always something new to see. I think that's always been my favourite part of my mums gardens, they feel homely in their imperfection, a little untidy in places but so busy with life and things to discover. Birds frequent the bird table and bees and butterflies hover amongst the array of flowers. Nature doesn't need neatness and organisation to thrive and look lovely.

On a sunny day with a little breeze I can't imagine a more perfect thing than sitting with my family on the grass in mums garden enjoying the surroundings. That's exactly what we did this past weekend and it was wonderful, it was something so completely mundane, normal, but entirely blissful. It was a perfect example of how slow-living for me brings such joy in just being present and observant of the small things. The wind whistled like the sound of waves through delicate leaves, rising and falling, whilst the sun painted the earth and flowers with rays of golden warmth. For me, my mothers garden will always be a little safe haven. I feel blessed to have such a special place to return to, to sit with an ice-cream, enjoy nature and contemplate. I'm grateful my daughter gets to run free spirited down the lawn, dig, find ladybirds and pick tomatoes. Watching her play gives me peace in my soul, and a feeling of things coming full circle from my own childhood.

I thank God for these simple pleasures which I am so privileged to experience and for the chance to create these precious memories of summer days in my mothers garden.

Peace be upon you,

An English Muslim Homemaker