Really… who has time for anything any more?  Life is lived at such a break-neck speed it’s hard to stop still long enough to take it all in.  It was my understanding that modern technology was supposed to simplify life, so that we could all spend more time enjoying and indulging in our lives.  And yet… a recent report suggested we spend more time on our digital devices than we do sleeping.  That surely can’t be right?  And then the consequent issue is that the notion of the 9-5 goes out of the window.  With email, everyone knows we are contactable 24,7… so when, therefore, do we really get to clock off?

In terms of physical exercise, these days we seem to spend so much time on Apps we have neglected our abs.  And we are now so reliant on our Pods and Pads that we would rather reach for a weather App than look out of the window!  Google has almost replaced God as the source of the answers to life, the universe and the location of the best curry house in South Manchester.

So… instead of watching digital roses, how much better to get back out into the great outdoors and simply take the time to smell the real thing?  The English love their gardens, and the patch of perfection they promise.  And as the summer months roll on, it is even more important to focus on the precious things… the flowers, the plants, the trees… to enjoy the best of the garden without getting bogged down in the boring, time-consuming maintenance of it all.  And a prime culprit in terms of maintenance is the lawn.  It seems you only have to turn your back for a few moments and it has erupted into something Amazonian.  And by that, I don’t mean the online retailer.

Gardens are for relaxing in, not working on

A garden should be enjoyed, without being a bind, a drain, a pain in the neck… or pain in the back, when it comes to mowing the thing.  Lord knows we aren’t blessed with endless sundrenched days in this country, so those days that are gorgeous should be enjoyed, and not spent “working” in the garden.

This, of course, is where Cheshire Artificial Grass comes in.  By replacing your unruly and misbehaving lawn with a lovely, uniform, easily maintained one, you can effectively free up time for genuine, precious free time: for sunbathing, for reading.  For, in fact, smelling the roses.

Still not convinced?  The OECD recently released a list of ‘World Happiness’ and it was actually Denmark that came out top.  The UK wasn’t even in the top 5.  Evidently, we need to learn some lessons from the Danes, and it principally seems we need to turn off our digital devices, and slooooooooooooow down.  The work commute, the late hours we seem devoted to dedicating in the UK… it all needs addressing.  As the famous aphorism goes… no one ever lay on their deathbed and said ‘Blimey, I wish I’d worked a bit more’.

So, why not perform a mental audit of everything you rush around doing during the day, and see what can be chopped.  Instead, free up that space to introduce more relaxing pursuits, such as exercising or, in fact, gardening, which manages to both engender exercise…  and induce relaxation.  So… de-clutter your life, empty your head of all extraneous information, empty your shed of unnecessary equipment (such as your lawnmower!) and eliminate all non-essentials.