April 16, 2020
In Toronto, we’re still allowed to leave our homes to exercise, but it seems like it’s only a matter of time until we won’t have that luxury. The thought that I’ll be confined to my apartment and may only able to leave the house once per week to go grocery shopping is pretty overwhelming. Of course it is only a thought at this point, and I don’t know that this will necessarily be the case, but I figure I may as well prepare for it. I live in an apartment building, so we don’t have a yard to hang out in. But, luckily we have a decent sized balcony. We’ve never taken advantage of it, due to the big construction project going on in the street in front of us, but now seems to be the ideal time. The balcony feels like the last vestige of nature to hold onto, if we aren’t allowed to go on walks. So true to form, we are planning and preparing the balcony to be our outdoor oasis. This project has helped give us direction, which I’m finding very helpful in this less structured time.
I ordered one of those amazing zero gravity chairs that are essentially outdoor La-Z-boys (I highly recommend them!). However, since all the stores are closed, people have almost exclusively switched to online shopping and the chair is predicted to take a month to get to me. I guess even Amazon has limits to its capabilities! In the meantime, we are working on our garden oasis. The “defence flowers” I mentioned in my last post (i.e., hydrangeas) were the first of our collection. This past weekend we bought 2 small trees (and I repotted them, which was nerve-wracking). In a few weeks, herbs will be ready to purchase and we can get thyme, mint, basil, and chives for our planters. Then all we need is some tomato seeds, and we’ll have a little vegetable and herb garden. I have never wanted plants before. It just seems so stressful trying to keep them alive. (As you may have realized, I do not have any pets or children, which I suspect are a bit more challenging to take care of.) But the desire for experiencing nature from the confines of my own home has won out. Hopefully we can keep all these plants alive! Having plants and the zero gravity chair (when it comes) is reassuring to me. Even if I can’t go on walks, I can still lie in the sun, surrounded by greenery, and get a little taste of summer (when it gets here).
- Roo
Do you have any ideas for bringing nature into your homes, decking out your balconies, or sprucing up your yards? I’d love to hear! Please share your ideas in the comments section below.