With COVID-19 lots of people are spending lots of time at home. Those with the good fortune to have beautiful outdoor spaces to enjoy surely are appreciating them.
Before I dig in I want to preface that I’m not a medical provider, an epidemiologist, or public health official. I am not currently in possession of a crystal ball, or in communication with spirits from beyond, so take my predictions with a grain of salt. There are lots of folks out there with lots of opinions, and I don’t want to contribute to the noise and misinformation. That said, I’m a fairly avid reader, and a reasonably well educated critical thinker and… a builder of outdoor spaces (landscape wizard?).
I don’t expect this crisis to end overnight, and life certainly won’t go back to normal immediately. I expect we will slowly transition, measures like self isolation and toilet paper hoarding will diminish. When and if life goes back to “normal” we will face a suite of changed social norms and behaviors. At the very least we will all have an increased awareness of the transmission of viral diseases.
To that end I don’t think I’ll ever view a handshake the same, and will likely be cautious about entering the homes of other people. For parents and the elderly, I can imagine social lives permanently altered by the increased awareness of viral risk.
In the short term our answer to viral containment has been to utilize technology to do our communicating, our entertaining, even our teaching. I don’t believe that our best lives can be lived in a virtual space. I don’t want my relationships to be mediated by a screen, nor do I wish for my recreation to take place within one. I crave full sensory experience and value the subtlety that is conveyed through in-person encounters.
In global crises it is abundantly clear that we are all connected. Humans weren’t meant to live entirely in silos, bubbles, behind individualized gates and walls. All of those dividing measures serve their function, but to deny our connections is like denying global warming. Denial doesn’t change reality.
We crave and need connection, and as the social distancing measures start to wane it will raise the question: How and where can we safely engage friends and family in person, in the real world?
I think that our outdoor spaces would be a good place to start, and depending on how the science unfolds it might be a good place to remain. My first invitations to visitors will likely be to share some time together in our garden. Thoughtful outdoor spaces provide room for appropriate social distancing, whereas we would be hard pressed to get six feet apart in the kitchen.
If my snotty friend has a phlegmatic explosion in my garden I’m exceedingly unlikely to get out the clorox wipes and clean off my succulents. However if such an explosion were to happen in my living room I might have to fumigate! Outdoor fixtures, furnishings and surfaces are exposed to the elements, sun, wind and rain. Outdoor spaces can be hosed down and cleaned more easily than indoor spaces. Outdoor spaces provide a kind of buffer zone between the outside world and your possibly more sanitary indoor space (contingent upon housekeeping!)
The sunlight and fresh air just feel good. Gardens are great forums for conversation, the passage of birds and insects, the blooming and fading of flowers, the fragrances and sounds, the passing of neighbors. I recently relocated my desk to just inside double french doors to our back garden. If I open the doors I feel almost as if I’m outside. Occasionally papers are blown off my desk as the afternoon sea breeze fills in, but it’s a small price to pay. A mobile phone makes a fine paper weight, and the added functionality doesn’t require additional downloads or updates! The change of location and proximity to the garden has increased my computer endurance and overall working comfort.
No doubt this outbreak has caused enormous suffering and economic damage, but it’s important, to look for silver linings, and to take what we can from the experience to apply to our future practices.
We hope to be able to continue to work on projects, taking care to keep distance and to avoid sharing tools. Be well, stay safe, enjoy what you can. If you’re ready to make improvements to your outdoor spaces please consider contacting me nathan@groundswelllandscaping.com
