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A fascinating pair of books on the therapeutic potential of the natural world – one by a psychiatrist, the other by a patient
Spring, in the days of lockdown, continues obliviously – and reminds us how we depend on the natural world. For anyone with the luck to have a garden, the varied consolations of even a small patch of land will be clearer than ever. Sue Stuart-Smith’s fascinating book, written before the coronavirus crisis, brings indebtedness to nature into new focus and, during a time in which many of us are compelled by our phones and computers, extends the awareness – backed up by compendious and elegant research – of how mentally enriching it is to swap screen for green.
Stuart-Smith is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, married to celebrated garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith. Their style of gardening is a sympathetic collaboration with nature, eschewing high-handed interventions. An early photograph – in 1988 – shows them surveying newly dug beds in their Hertfordshire garden. Nothing much is growing – apart from the baby in Sue Stuart-Smith’s arms – and they are at a momentary standstill, lost in thought. The photo makes the point: gardens begin – and continue – in the mind. Continue reading...