A Nation of Gardeners “花癡”之國 Britons dig in for the lockdown.英國人“刨土抗疫”

王文君

Sue Biggs， director-general of the Royal Horticultural Society1 （RHS）， a gardening charity， was “quite fearful” when the government ordered Britons into lockdown six weeks ago. She is single and has only her dog for company. But， like many of the societys 500，000 or so members， she has found solace in her garden. “I have attacked the creeping buttercups with a vengeance2”， she says. She ordered so many new plants that she had to dig up part of her lawn to squeeze them in.

Britains gardens have never been in better nick3. Confined to their homes， folk are manicuring4 their hedges and lavishing attention on their vegetable patches. Official statistics show that 45% of Britons are coping with the lockdown by gardening， slightly more than are cooking or reading. Surveys suggest that between eight and nine in ten Britons have a private garden， pipping5 the share in France and Poland and dwarfing6 that in Spain， where a survey in 2014 found 27% had gardens. Millions watch flower shows that are screened on prime time television.

This national obsession is a mixture of temperature and temperament. Britains climate， with mild winters and plenty of rain， is particularly suited to gardening. And from the 18th century， aristocrats competed to hire the most renowned landscapers， such as Lancelot? “Capability” Brown， to transform the grounds of their country estates. Victorian villas7 and suburban terraces， with gardens front and back8， echoed these in miniature.

In a time of isolation and anxiety， the habit should stand Britons in good stead9. Two new books—“The Natural Health Service” by Isabel Hardman， a journalist， and “A Well-Gardened Mind” by Sue Stuart-Smith， a psychiatrist—highlight the mental-health benefits of gardening. Studies suggest it is associated with significant reductions in depression and anxiety. Mrs Stuart-Smith sees it as a fundamentally optimistic activity. Even as plans for holidays and parties are being cancelled， imagining that a bunch of dull-looking seeds will transform into bright blooming flowers requires faith in the future.

Kew Gardens10， a popular spot in a posh suburb of London， is closed， but Kews gardens are busier than ever. A few streets away， Lila Fenton， a management trainer， spends at least two hours a day in her garden. “I come down in the morning， make my coffee， then I check on my seedlings，” she says. She has clubbed together with neighbours to organise mass deliveries of plants and compost.

Gardens are so central to the lockdown experience that they have become a political issue. They are regularly cited to explain how the effects of the pandemic are unevenly11 felt. When councils began to close parks， politicians protested that tower-block12 dwellers would be deprived of their only green space. Boris Johnson， who spent much of his campaign for the Tory leadership in garden centres， is likely to heed pleas from plant-sellers to be allowed to reopen.

For now， the Kew Gardener， a nearby plant shop， is only taking orders online. But that has not stopped hopeful gardeners dropping by. Its owner， Daniel Slack， says one local asked him to pass a plant through the railings. He is not the only one looking for green shoots.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?■

休·比格斯是園藝慈善機構(gòu)英國皇家園藝學會的會長，她過著獨居生活，只有一條狗做伴。6周前，英國政府采取全國性的封鎖措施，這讓她“十分擔憂”。不過，和英國皇家園藝學會約50萬會員中的很多人一樣，她從自家花園中尋得了解憂之法。她說：“為了除掉爬滿一地的毛茛，我對它們‘大開殺戒?！彼€訂購了很多新的植物，這使她不得不挖開自家的部分草坪，為這些植物騰出尺寸之地。

英國的各個花園煥發(fā)出前所未有的蓬勃生機。人們禁足在家，便開始修剪樹籬和花心思種起蔬菜來。官方數(shù)據(jù)表明，45%的英國人通過園藝活動來度過封鎖隔離期，這一比例略高于做飯和閱讀。調(diào)查顯示，八九成的英國人擁有私家花園，這一比例略高于法國和波蘭，遠高于西班牙。2014年的一份調(diào)查顯示，西班牙僅有27%的人有私家花園。在英國，每天都有數(shù)百萬人守在電視機前觀看黃金時段播出的花卉節(jié)目。

這種民族情結(jié)是溫度（tem-perature）和秉性（temperament）結(jié)合的產(chǎn)物。英國冬季溫和，雨水充沛，特別適合開展園藝活動。從18世紀開始，英國貴族就競相聘請最知名的園藝師——如號稱“能人”的園藝師蘭斯洛特·布朗——來改造他們鄉(xiāng)村莊園的庭院。維多利亞式住宅和郊區(qū)聯(lián)排公寓前后都有花園，簡直是縮小版的鄉(xiāng)村莊園。

居家隔離期間，人們普遍焦慮，愛好園藝這一習慣讓英國人獲益匪淺。以下兩本新書強調(diào)了園藝對于心理健康的益處——一本是記者伊莎貝爾·哈德曼的《自然療法》，另一本是心理學家休·斯圖爾特-史密斯的《園藝之心》。研究表明，園藝活動能顯著緩解人們憂郁和焦慮的情緒。斯圖爾特-史密斯夫人認為，園藝本質(zhì)上是一項積極向上的活動。人們的度假和聚會計劃被迫取消，但此時一想到一捧看起來平淡無奇的種子會長成一片艷麗可人的花叢，就足以讓人們對未來充滿希冀。

在倫敦郊區(qū)的一個富人區(qū)，有一個熱門景點——邱園。邱園現(xiàn)已關(guān)閉，但邱園里的花園卻比以往更加熱鬧了。幾條街外，一位名叫萊拉·芬頓的管理培訓師每天至少在花園里待上兩個小時。她說：“我早晨過來，煮點咖啡，然后檢查我的那些幼苗?！彼€和鄰居們一起，組織運送了大量的植物和堆肥。

疫情隔離期間，園藝是英國人的一項重要活動，甚至上升為一個政治話題。政客們經(jīng)常以花園為例，說明不同人群受疫情影響的程度各不相同。政府下令關(guān)閉公園時，政客們抗議這一做法剝奪了居住在高樓大廈里的人們僅有的綠地。英國首相鮑里斯·約翰遜為取得保守黨領(lǐng)導權(quán)而舉行的競選活動大部分都是在花園中心進行的，他有可能會考慮綠植銷售商的請求，準許其重新開放。

“邱園園丁”是邱園附近一家植物商店，現(xiàn)在疫情期間只接受網(wǎng)上訂購。但是，這絲毫不影響滿懷期待的園藝愛好者們不時的光顧。店主丹尼爾·斯拉克說，一個當?shù)厝嗽糁鴻跅U向他購買植物幼苗，而且這并不是個例。? ? ? ? ? ? ? □

（譯者單位：湖南師范大學）

1世界性園藝組織，創(chuàng)辦于1804年。該學會既是園藝組織也是英國的慈善機構(gòu)，致力于推動園林和園藝的發(fā)展。? 2 with a vengeance猛烈地;徹底地。? 3 in good nick狀況良好。? 4 manicure修剪。

5 pip以微弱優(yōu)勢擊敗，險勝。? 6 dwarf使相形見絀。? 7 villa〈英〉郊區(qū)住宅。? 8在英國的郊區(qū)，每戶人家一般都有前后兩個花園。前花園主要用來供別人觀賞，后花園則是主人獨處和舉行派對的私密空間。

9 stand sb in good stead對某人很有助益。? 10英國皇家植物園林，坐落在倫敦三區(qū)的西南角，是世界上著名的植物園之一，也是植物分類學研究中心。始建于1759年，原是英皇喬治三世的皇太后奧格斯汀公主的私人皇家植物園，1840年起逐步對公眾開放。? 11 unevenly不均衡地。

12 tower-block高層建筑;公寓大樓。