Lockdown in my garden: the first 100 days | 24 March – 1 July 2020

A sample of snaps from the first 100 days of lockdown, all taken on iPhone 11 Pro Max. I spent far more time in the garden than ever before, mostly working but occasionally relaxing and enjoying the fruits of my labour. The garden evolved like never before during this time, with dramatic changes to my pond especially (see separate post), but also the birth of the raised vegetable garden – from seeds in the greenhouse to plants that are, at this moment in time, not far off being ready to harvest.

Relaxing in the garden

Early on in lockdown I decided to show myself – by doing what English people do not do: sitting in the front garden. I took a small table and two chairs into the front garden so that people could see me; in those early days of lockdown people shut themselves indoors and we never saw anyone, it was really quite eerie.

Hopefully if people could see me having a coffee and reading the paper it would bring a degree of normality and reassurance to the cul-de-sac. I have no idea if it worked but it was nice to sit outside for a change and see folks walk by with their dogs.

It was not long before the famous Lockdown Lawn Bar opened for business. Myself and the neighbours would sit out in the late afternoon sunshine and enjoy a beer or three, perhaps twice a week. This became a very welcome distraction from lockdown and we made new friends of neighbours passing by. There were other distractions too: on Easter Day I discovered an Easter egg nestling in an apple tree – now that’s something you don’t see every day…

It was not just me relaxing in the garden: the frog pictured here seemed to spend hours basking in the sun, unmoving. And birds were also sunbathing, tail feathers and wings spread out and beaks wide open. I learned just how friendly birds can be, blackbirds especially. One of them took to walking around the garden by my side, occasionally glancing up to check I was OK!