Maintaining a garden can be overwhelming – the pressure to have a perfect lawn, immaculate borders and not a weed in sight…it can feel like an elite club where only the most skilled gardeners are welcome! However, recently, a new approach to gardening has risen to rock the boat and challenge gardening traditions. Introducing wabi-sabi.

In recent years shabby chic has taken the interiors world by storm. Suddenly we had permission to be perfectly imperfect and many of us delighted in this newfound creative freedom within our living spaces. Well, wabi-sabi is to gardens what shabby chic was to our homes!

Wabi-sabi is essentially a philosophy of aesthetics, stemming from Buddhist teachings. It focuses on ageing gracefully, looking at how nature can influence and enhance manmade creations. Wabi-sabi style is all about giving nature permission to be present and ‘do its thing’ in your garden. Rust, decaying logs and airy, messy plants that are free of formality. It even permits weeds within reason!

Suddenly, gardening is more accessible thanks to this raw, judgement-free approach. Not only does it grant gardeners old and new permission to experiment with nature within their outdoor space, it also lends itself to nature conservation as items like decaying logs are perfect for protecting wildlife.

So, let your garden age gracefully and see what wabi-sabi can do for you! Here at Avant Home and Garden Centre we welcome gardeners of all kinds and cater to all abilities and tastes.