Photo: Even the dog panting is too loud!
All gardens are sensory. They all have things you can touch,
smell, taste and hear, even if it’s just an old wheelie bin and a carrier bag
rustling in the trees. And they are all beautiful in their own way (well
depending what’s in the plastic bag)
Sensitive to sound
I’ve been a bit sensitive to sounds all week and anything
louder than a whisper has sent my eardrums into overload (your sympathy has
been noted thank you). For that reason, if there needs to be one, I’ve spent a
lot of time out in the garden with my eyes closed just listening to the peace
and quiet. Well that was the plan; I am beginning to think there isn’t such a
thing.
There’s nothing thankfully that is overly loud in our garden
but I am aware of traffic noises, the wind direction allows us to listen to
different roads and the wind also sets off the neighbours rather lovely wind
chimes. Then of course we have the birdsong, especially a couple of woodpigeons.
We are lucky to have trees and shrubs around us which make a great rustling
noise. But then there are the other sounds of the suburbs.
We did have a neighbour who played a radio when the sun
shone but they have moved on. We have a couple of distressed dogs in the
distance who howl occasionally. That’s
really just the tip of the iceberg with sounds though, people walking past in
other gardens, faint industrial noises, planes going overhead, even the clothes
line tapping against the wall all add to the rich tapestry of sound in the
garden. I can almost hear the plants growing.
Really Sensitive
You can see just how sensitive my ears have been. There’s
one thing feeling, tasting and smelling in the garden, you can more or less
forget about them when you are sitting down. Noise on the other hand is there
constantly. I had a strange sensation the
other day, one that I have only had a few times in my life, which sums up the
sensitivity I have to noise at the moment. When I was a youngster I “heard” my
mother shout to me as I was in bed. I got up and asked what she wanted, but had
no idea what I was talking about. I really did ‘hear her’ in my head. The
second time was when I was walking outside; I ‘heard’ a full sized orchestra
playing. I actually had the orchestra playing as though they were there, every
instrument was loud and clear. The whole experience only lasted for about ten
seconds but it was so memorable. As I tried to see where the music was coming
from, it got further away and less distinct, like someone was turning the
volume down. I was in the middle of a field at the time. My latest ‘noise’ was a night or two ago when
I ‘heard’ as clear as they were next to me a band called Squeeze singing their first hit “Goodbye girl” again it was
only for a short few seconds but it was very strange. Since then it’s been
playing in the background of my head for the last three days. It doesn’t sound
real though and thankfully distant enough not to drive me mad.
Children Playing
It’s all good though I’m sure and I know it’ll go away soon.
Listening to children playing in the distance is a great distraction and reminds
me of the Oscar Wilde story ‘The Selfish Giant’ who chased the children away from
his garden and only after many long winters invited them back and said: 'I have many beautiful flowers, but the
children are the most beautiful flowers of all.' I agree but at the moment I’m
glad the children are playing in a garden across the road.
Water
Water is also a great sound to have in the garden. We have
the rain coming from the shed and filling up my galvanized metal baby bath,
which sounds great in the rain. And even when the heavy rain goes down the
drainpipes sound lovely. We have a
collection of shells and driftwood that makes a pleasant chinking sound when
the wind blows through them. I do tend to get a bit stressed when I hear the
polytunnel plastic flapping in the wind or the shed door banging when the
children leave it open.
Usually I’ll go into the garden for a bit of peace and
quiet. Today though, I might need to go
out there with a pair of earplugs.
