Quiet gardening has me a-buzz

SAVE your hearing and enjoy better fitness by using hand tools when gardening.

GENTLE GARDENING: Ditch the power tools for those hand-held options which allow you to relax and enjoy the serenity. Picture: Supplied

THE other day I was crawling along the garden beds in my front yard committing an act of rebellion.

Armed only with a pair of shears, I trimmed the grass against the wooden divider between the lawn and the zinnias, sunflowers and magnolias using my own strength.

No battery-or-other powered line strimmer to break the serenity.

Instead of having to wear earmuffs, eye protection over my glasses and heavy gloves, I was free to listen to bird calls, observe butterflies and bugs and check on the new seedlings growing thanks to birds eating my sunflower seeds and dropping the excess.

A curious lorikeet eyed me balefully from the letterbox and a magpie splashed about in the birdbath, seemingly indifferent to my gentle clip-clip.

I'll admit I did a recoil when a spider the size of a teacup meandered (harmlessly) past.

Yes, it took about six times longer than when I use a noisy trimmer but there were no unnecessary casualties; flowers or plants accidentally cut in half by a whirling thingamy.

And I got to chat with loads of people who were innocently walking their dogs and children down the street as I then trimmed the grass near the front fence.

It's the same with those petrol-or-electric leaf blowers, gosh they annoy me.

Give me a good broom any day - and yes, I've heard the witch jokes, thank you very much.

Sweeping is great for your arm muscles and again, no earmuffs needed and there's less chance of contributing to the noise pollution which can sully a weekend.

OK, I'll admit to using a motor-mower, although in the past I have owned a cracker hand push mower which took a while to sharpen but cut so precisely my lawn edges were like origami.

I get that for many people due to health or a massive garden, not using power tools is not an option.

But for me, including as much gentle and quiet gardening into my life is the way to go.

So this weekend, be a rebel.

Join me in the Quiet Gardening Alliance.