Balance September 2017 - 70

Mas

et r c l a s

How to heal your
life through plants
with the Rich Brothers

t h e nic
Orgi sas u e

The

TIPS TO
START
GARDENING

SPEND A
YEAR PLOTTING
Don't buy all the
plants for your
garden in one go. Buy
over the course of a
year, as plants thrive
in different seasons.

Raised in the Welsh wilderness,
we spent most of our free time as
youngsters exploring the area
around Brecon. Whether we realised
it or not, a love of the outdoors was
ingrained in us from then.
Our earliest memories are of
tramping through the rock pools with
Denver, the Golder Retriever, near
Ystradfellte waterfalls. We set up our
landscaping business in 2010 and
have since gone on to become the
youngest winners of a Gold medal at
RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and design
gardens for Chanel and Massimo
Dutti. And it all sprang from our
halcyon childhoods on the Beacons.

SLEEP BETTER
You don't need a huge outdoor area to
start planting. We live in London now
and have the same issues as everyone
else in that space is limited.
There are plenty of plants which
thrive in pots you can put on a
windowsill or balcony. Lavender is
one. It loves drought as it originated
from Arabic countries, so is easy to
care for. The scent is calming and is
often given as a natural aid to sleep.

Put a little under your pillow, or dot
some pots around your house.

DON'T
OVERWATER
It's the worst thing
you can do. When
the leaves start to
droop, give your
plant a soaking.
Or, put your finger
1 inch into the soil, if
moist, it's still good.

ALLEVIATE YOUR ALLERGIES
House plants are not only wonderful
for softening stark interiors, but
they also act as air purifiers. We love
English Ivy [it's been shown to clean
around 80% of airborne moulds];
place it in a hanging basket or on a
shelf and it'll largely look after itself.
It deals well with low light
conditions and doesn't need to be
watered too much. Peace Lilies are
the same, they suppress airborne
microbes and are easy to tend to.

IMPROVE YOUR MOOD
Having any plants at eye-level is an
excellent way to improve mood as the
colour green is particularly relaxing.
If you're outdoors, working with soil
has also been shown to help alleviate
low moods by promoting an up-stick
in the happy hormone serotonin.
If you're starved of colour, try
planting some wild garlic and
bluebells. They're particularly
heartening after a long dreary winter
- signalling you've almost made it to
the most riotous part of the year.

BA LA N CE September 2017

The Rich Brothers'
book Love Your Plot:
Gardens Inspired By
Nature is available now
(£16.99, Century)

INDOOR
INSPIRATION
Not sure which
colours or textures
to go for? Look at
your interior. If you
loved red inside,
you'll love it
outdoors too.

The outcome

The most important thing is that having plants gives you
something to nurture. Just the act of looking after them
- planting, tending, watering - and then watching them
thrive from your work has a profoundly therapeutic
effect. Watching the rhythms of the seasons play out
in your own plot, however small, offers you a muchneeded sense of your place in the natural world. B

WORDS: ALEXANDRA JONES

A BIT ABOUT US

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Balance September 2017