Opinion I Of pocket gardens and horticulture therapy
Live MintEarly one morning in May, my friend Bina Emily Murray and I walked on the path along the river Thames in Barnes, London. We walked around, exploring several well-tended gardens studded with glasshouses, mesh covers to keep slugs, millipedes and birds at bay, compost heaps and tiny green storage sheds. Originally a post-Industrial Revolution concept, they gained impetus after the death in 1861 of child psychologist Moritz Schreber, who strongly advocated the use of these green spaces for the well-being of children growing up in small apartments, as a means to getting fresh air, exercise and meeting friends. To my great delight, I discovered a charming allotment with a hidden bench smothered by mint, borage, fig and apple trees close to me in Kensington Gardens, behind the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, and although I had walked past it innumerable times, I hadn’t noticed it till I searched online for one nearby. The great covid pause has nudged us towards self-reliance and city folk across the planet have taken to growing “pocket gardens” on the terraces and balconies of their homes.
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