Sheltering-in-place and social distancing have unfortunately become the new normal these days. We are feeling the effects of missing our friends and loved ones, and the plethora of overwhelmingly negative news. Finding ways to stay positive during these trying times is so important as many of us are suffering from the fear and anxiety of not knowing what tomorrow will bring. 

Getting out into our yards (while of course maintaining appropriate social distances from our neighbors) is a good way to help change our perspective on our current situation. It is also an excellent way to improve our mood and beat cabin fever. The spring air is a welcome break from the couch and whatever shows we’ve been binge watching. Spending time in the sun can improve our mood, help us sleep better, and can offer a sense of calm. We do need to remember to use sunscreen and wear a hat if we’ll be outside for more than a few minutes, which we should be!

Working in the garden provides even more benefits than just a casual stroll. Gardening is a physical activity and physical activity helps lower blood pressure. Physical activity also relieves stress and reduces anxiety. Immersing ourselves in nature takes us away from our electronic devices and gives us a break from the constant news cycle. While we can choose to garden on our own as a way to take a little break from being with our immediate family 24/7, we can also get our families involved. Gardening is a wonderful way to bond and to teach children about where food comes from and about the natural world surrounding them. It will also help them burn off some energy and encourages them to take a break from their devices. 

Fortunately with the arrival of spring we can toil in the garden in any number of ways. We can tend to the gardens we already have by adding new spring flowering plants such as pansies and we can give our beds a refresh by adding new mulch. We can start a new kitchen garden full of herbs and veggies, or we can sow some seeds and pull some weeds. Even just dusting off a lounge chair or bench so we can enjoy a cocktail al fresco is a great way to get out into the garden. This is the time of year when our favorite local nurseries start selling their vegetables, herbs, and fruit plants. As they provide edible plants and seeds, they are deemed essential agricultural businesses and many are now open and eager to serve us, their loyal customers.

Prioritizing customer and employee safety is of the utmost importance to all of us and local nurseries are offering new ways to shop, from online shopping, to calling in orders that will be ready for curbside pickup, or offering delivery services. Goldberg & Rodler is still open and we’re here for all of your landscape needs. Maintenance, emergency tree work and repairs, and plant healthcare for pest and disease control are all currently deemed essential business and our design staff is working from home.

With a multitude of technology options at our disposal, we can meet via video chat or we can walk your yard “social distance-landscape style” and use our mobile phones or tablets to talk while keeping physically apart so our team will have a plan and be ready to hit the ground running for you when NY’s PAUSE ends. With the amount of time we are all currently spending at home, now more than ever it is important to have a place we enjoy being, whether it’s relaxing on a lounge chair with a good book, picking fresh berries from your own garden, or taking a dip in a pool, make your home and yard the place you and your loved ones will always want to gather, quarantined or not.

A quote gardeners love to share is, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn said this while speaking of the work she did as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Tomorrow will come, so join us on Instagram and Facebook and let’s #believeintomorrow, get planting, and look forward to all the fruits, vegetables, and flowers today’s hard work will bring us tomorrow!

– Corinne Iasilli