Recently I have taken part in some research at the IOPPN (Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience), the CRiB2 study, which is looking at cognitive skills of people living with bipolar. It’s a RCT (Randomised Control Trial) and provides some participants with an online cognitive remediation programme (CIRCuiTS) to see if and how this helps with daily living.
Cognition and impulsivity in bipolar
Up until then, I did not think I had any cognitive deficits and said so on the application form. Once I had started the therapy I questioned this. I had not thought I was particularly impulsive nor that impulsivity is necessarily a bad trait, but I began to recognise that I do tend to jump into things (at work and now in retirement), I reply almost instantly to emails and text messages – I have a reputation for being speedy.
Gardening is an effective antidote to this.
You can’t speed up plant growth through willpower alone, although by reading up on soil, light, nutrients and water you can optimise its chances. I have learnt that some things just take time and to go with the flow. Fifteen years ago, I took part in a leadership/personal development programme, portentously called, “Unleashed” (imagine my mania more unleashed than it is). On the pre-course reading list was a book, that made a long-lasting impression on me. It was, “In praise of slow” written by Italian journalist, Carl Honoré.
The image at the head of this post shows an agapanthus plant that I grew from seed. It took eighteen months just to grow enough to move it out of the kitchen and six or seven years to get to the beauty you see there. Last winter the frost and snow took its toll and it is now a shadow of its former self, a spindly yet hopeful side shoot – that’s gardening for you ….
Slowing down as self-care
Ambitious as I was, that book caused me to re-evaluate what was important to me. Up until then and after four psychotic episodes, I had paid lip service to the idea that my health and in particular my mental health was paramount, whilst surging forward on a quest for external recognition in my working life.
My rule of thumb when becoming manic is not to do any more than three things a day. If the to-do list on my phone is longer, it’s a litmus test for slowing down. Luckily gardening counts as just one thing , it just so happens that it can take several hours. It offers a range of tasks and variety at different times of the year, so for me, it’s never dull.
Sowing, pricking out and potting up
Growing from seed is the cheapest and most satisfying way to garden, if you have space and patience. It involves precision tasks that you have to concentrate on – perfect mindfulness and a good way to stave off rumination. I have a lithium tremor so a bit clumsy and if seeds are small, I tend to over do it, which means later in the season finding homes for surplus plants – my local community centre welcomes my annual delivery of tomato plants.
Sowing and germination is quietly exciting – not rock and roll, but the delight of seeing that a green shoot is emerging, remains a thrill. Two weeks ago some seeds arrived one morning, sown within the hour, they seemed to be doing nothing, till ten days later I moved the pot under cover, watered it lightly. The next morning two sets of two leaves obliged me – relief and delight!
Pricking out is when you take young seedlings (when they have at least four leaves) and transfer them from a seed tray to an individual pot. You have to tease the roots from other seedlings whilst not handling the stem.
There is a tool called a dibber for this, but I often use an old kitchen fork or spoon handle to make a hole in the new pot of soil and tamping the seedling in (you can’t leave air around the roots when transferring plants to new locations). It is quite an absorbing, in the moment, activity and takes concentration. Initially the seedlings will look as though they are not going to make it and flop about, but a dose of water and a short stay in the nursery – a sheltered shady spot – usually sees things right.
Potting up is when you transfer a plant to a larger pot. This is usually when I buy plants and they are either too small or the weather is not yet warm enough for them to go in the ground. This year, because my veg patch is full of potato plants, my tomatoes and peppers are in pots. I have a collection of herbs in pots by the back door too.
Therapeutic horticulture – starting out
You don’t have to have a lot of space to garden. When I was growing up we grew tomatoes in a couple of pots indoors on a sunny windowsill. If you have an outdoor ledge or balcony window boxes (well secured) can host colourful flowers, fragrant herbs, productive salad or any combination. There are community garden projects around the place where you can meet other beginners alongside experts for company and encouragement. The charity, Thrive, supports this network by providing training for therapeutic horticulture, events and information on gardening for mental health.
Finding out about plants for free
I like to visit other people’s and larger gardens for ideas or just nose around front gardens and parks when I am walking about. There are open garden/square events in London and two community gardens in South London I found as a result of Open Squares last year – Walworth Garden and Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses. Both are free to mooch around, have plant sales, courses, volunteering opportunities and events. Around the country also the National Garden Scheme, where amateur gardeners open up their space in exchange for donations to charity.
TV and radio are also long established sources of guidance and inspiration as well as Youtube, Instagram, Pinterest, facebook groups and Twitter experts to follow.
Free resources from the RHS can help you learn online. Their website is a fount of knowledge and advice (how to ripen tomatoes indoors in October, for example) with a monthly calendar, a newsletter and articles about gardening from experts. I use the My Garden and Grow Your Own apps to record and therefore remember the plants I have – they provide care information with monthly reminders of maintenance tasks needed – where my three things a day are condensed under a single heading – gardening.
Further information
- CRiB2 study – IOPPN – King’s College London website
- In praise of slow by Carl Honoré ( opens in World Cat)
- Get gardening : Support my mental health – Thrive website
- Walworth Garden – near Elephant & Castle
- Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses – Herne Hill
- London Gardens Trust – Open Gardens
- National Garden Scheme
- My Garden – flower advice – RHS website
- Grow your own – vegetable advice – RHS website