Happy for Ever and Ever

 

 

If you wish to be happy for a day, get drunk;

If you wish to be happy for a week, kill a pig;
If you wish to be happy for a month, get married;
If you wish to happy for ever and ever, make a garden.

Chinese Proverb

 

This magnificent garden was created by my green-fingered friend Michelle. When she moved to this house in the Lake District the garden was simply an area of grass, surrounded by a wall. I wondered how anything could thrive here and survive being battered by the harsh Cumbrian rains and winds, but now it is a blaze of colourful flowers. (Michelle loves bright colours - in her garden, her home and the clothes she wears.) 

 

There is interest in every corner and at every turn, with secret places where you can sit in solitude, basking in the sunshine and listening to the constant hum of bees. Some plants are tall and broad-leafed, while others are small, with tiny delicate flowers. The design seems random, almost higgledy-piggledy, but has been carefully planned and constructed. Michelle is an artist!

Writing prompts:

• Read the Chinese proverb above again. Write about what would make you happy for a day.
• Now write about what would make you happy for a week.
• Then write about what would make you happy for a month. 
• Finally write about what would make you happy for ever and ever. Making a garden perhaps, or something else?
• What enables you to survive life's 'winds and rains' and thrive? Explore your survival techniques in your writing.
• Write about a place you like to sit in solitude. Describe that place using all your senses. 
• Write about a favourite garden you know.
• Are the people in your life like plants- some tall, bold and colourful, some delicate, shy and retiring? Write about one of them in detail.