16 May Flower Lovers Of Lockdown
Prior to the Covid-19 lockdown I would always have fresh flowers at home. Be it my living room or bedroom, flowers were a must! The smell of scented eucalyptus and the rich reds and purples of my favourite roses always put me in a good mood. But now, now, there’s no more visits to Columbia Road market to pick up blooms for the week or nipping to the supermarket for something to spruce the place up a bit.
For the first three weeks of being indoors, I was feeling somewhat blue about the lack of floral presence indoors. Then one day as I was constantly crossing the road to avoid my fellow adventurers, I noticed something. There’s a tree, sprouting pretty pink blossoms.
There’s a flower box in that front garden filled with brightly coloured tulips and daffodils, standing to attention in the April sunshine.
After all this time pounding the pavements on my weekly walks, focused on staying as far away as possible from everyone, or worse, with my head in my phone, I didn’t notice the very blooms I’d been missing right under my nose!
All I needed to do was look up! Once I had spotted that first blossom tree not only did my mood lift, but the world felt a bit brighter. Instead of seeing my phone, I was now seeing beautiful white calla lilies and vivid yellow shrubs just enjoying the sunshine – it was like a rude awakening!
It’s now six weeks into my working from home and almost week three of the imposed lockdown and every week when I go out for my usual walk, I find myself planning a different route to see what new blooms I can discover.
Now, instead of focusing on my phone and the latest corona virus news alerts, I’m now taking photos of all the pretty flowers, shrubs and trees I come across. Saying that, I have been in two minds about getting up close and personal with blooms in my neighbours front gardens but with social distancing firmly in place, there was no one around to tell me off for trying to get the perfect shot! (ssshhhh, don’t tell anyone!).
So, my challenge to you is this – the next time you step outside, armed to the teeth with your trusty mask and gloves (not forgetting the anti-bac) and thinking about getting to your destination in the safest way possible. Or busying yourself with the constant ping of your phone, just stop. Just stop for a minute and take in all that mother nature has to offer, all around us.
Take in how clear and blue the sky looks, how pretty the flowers are, the birds singing, how the breeze feels against your cheeks and remember there is beauty to be found even during tough times.
It may sound silly, but really taking in the nature right on my doorstep and documenting it has really given me moments of calm during this period of uncertain chaos. Don’t get me wrong, I know that it’s a quick fix for my mental wellness and its sometimes impossible to not be consumed with all thing’s Covid-19. But those bursts of colour are always a reassuring reminder that life continues, just like the seasons – if we just look up.
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