I’ve always been an eager gardener but I know I’m not the only one who’s found renewed interest in all things horticultural since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. My particular gardening focus has been growing my own food (I do sometimes share the bounty with the family). This includes vegetables, fruit and some rather unusual edible flowers.

Gardening is a great way to get outside, particularly if you’re working from home or on a flexible freelance basis. If you don’t believe me here are my top ten reasons gardening and freelance writing are a match made in heaven.

1. I can’t write all day without a break. Popping out for a bit of ‘slipper gardening‘ provides the perfect solution to this
2. My freelance routines are important to me. It’s easy to build daily gardening routines into a home business schedule
3. Freelance work can be a bit boom or bust. There’s no opportunity to dwell on this when you have garden jobs to crack on with
4. When the work slows down, growing my own vegetables gives me that, ‘Well at least I’ll be able to eat’ feeling
5. Growing too many veg leads to new interests (in my case preserving) and friendships (both online and over the garden wall)
6. Learning is good for cognition and, in the gardening world, there’s never a shortage of learning opportunities or teachers
7. Gardening teaches you to argue at the same time as admiring. In my case this is with Monty Don on a Friday night
8. Eating fresh fruit and vegetables in season has to be good for your brain
9. With such easy access to online communications, gardening gives you opportunities to build relationships with people all over the world
10. By learning new skills you make yourself a more interesting person (and writer). Or that’s what I keep telling myself. I have at least learnt lots of new words

Romaine, collard, mulch, leopard slug, wormery, permaculture, guild, perennial (not perineal), buckthorn, physalis (no not that), food forest, salsify, cucamelon (delicious), tromboncino (intriguing)…

I also know there are lots of different types of earthworm.

Of course the one negative thing about gardening, especially vegetable gardening, is it can all become a bit obsessive…