A spring reboot
I don’t think there’s any city in the world that celebrates spring as beautifully as our own. There’s a reason Christchurch is referred to as the ‘Garden City’, and a drive down Harper Avenue or a quick glimpse of the blossom trees around Hagley Park merely confirms this.
It seems the city forefathers really looked to the future when they planted such incredible specimens way back in 1936 on Arbor Day.
These and the massive drifts of spring bulbs evident throughout our parks and gardens rival some of the plantings I’ve seen overseas, including Japan with its blossom and the Netherlands with its bulbs. Remember that both these countries have international reputations for their displays. Tourists and locals alike are in a constant state of rapture because of our botanical treasures.
But I don’t want to sound like someone delivering a ‘20 things to do in spring’ article, preferring instead to think about the two or three things I intend to do now that the weather’s warming up and the spring property market’s about to launch. It’s been a long, unsettled winter, and it’s a relief to come into the warmer months.
Most importantly, I want to spring clean everything!
In my environment at work, it’s time to repaint areas that need refreshing, reupholster chairs, give the outside a spruce-up and get rid of the mountains of extra stuff that’s found its way into nooks and crannies you never knew existed. I’m giving fair warning to everyone: if it’s past its best, it’s past its time. Then it’s going to be our home’s turn. Having recently read a rather brutal book on clutter busting by Brooks Palmer, I’m going to endeavour to let go of items that we don’t need. The rationale is that it’s said to be liberating given you’re less likely to be weighed down by objects you no longer use or even like and, believe it or not, all of us have things that fit this description. Duplicates – make that triplicates – of some items for that ‘just in case moment’ that never arrives, books that no one has time to read, and magazines that can now go to a new life in medical waiting rooms.
Given that I sit about as far away as possible from being a minimalist, tending instead towards hoarding, it’s likely to be a trying, if not vexing, experience.
But, as spring is all about regeneration, I’m going to embrace the idea even if I can’t follow through with all the actions.
For the rest of spring, I’m going to do what an Australian friend of mind does, and that’s to wear happy colours, floral ‘ensembles’ (her word), and no more – or make that not so much! – black.
It’s spring in the best city in the world, and after an interminable winter, it’s time for all of us to get out and enjoy life.