A Nation of Gardeners “花痴”之国 Britons dig in for the lockdown.英国人“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·比格斯是园艺慈善机构英国皇家园艺学会的会长，她过着独居生活，只有一条狗做伴。6周前，英国政府采取全国性的封锁措施，这让她“十分担忧”。不过，和英国皇家园艺学会约50万会员中的很多人一样，她从自家花园中寻得了解忧之法。她说：“为了除掉爬满一地的毛茛，我对它们‘大开杀戒。”她还订购了很多新的植物，这使她不得不挖开自家的部分草坪，为这些植物腾出尺寸之地。

英国的各个花园焕发出前所未有的蓬勃生机。人们禁足在家，便开始修剪树篱和花心思种起蔬菜来。官方数据表明，45%的英国人通过园艺活动来度过封锁隔离期，这一比例略高于做饭和阅读。调查显示，八九成的英国人拥有私家花园，这一比例略高于法国和波兰，远高于西班牙。2014年的一份调查显示，西班牙仅有27%的人有私家花园。在英国，每天都有数百万人守在电视机前观看黄金时段播出的花卉节目。

这种民族情结是温度（tem-perature）和秉性（temperament）结合的产物。英国冬季温和，雨水充沛，特别适合开展园艺活动。从18世纪开始，英国贵族就竞相聘请最知名的园艺师——如号称“能人”的园艺师兰斯洛特·布朗——来改造他们乡村庄园的庭院。维多利亚式住宅和郊区联排公寓前后都有花园，简直是缩小版的乡村庄园。

居家隔离期间，人们普遍焦虑，爱好园艺这一习惯让英国人获益匪浅。以下两本新书强调了园艺对于心理健康的益处——一本是记者伊莎贝尔·哈德曼的《自然疗法》，另一本是心理学家休·斯图尔特-史密斯的《园艺之心》。研究表明，园艺活动能显著缓解人们忧郁和焦虑的情绪。斯图尔特-史密斯夫人认为，园艺本质上是一项积极向上的活动。人们的度假和聚会计划被迫取消，但此时一想到一捧看起来平淡无奇的种子会长成一片艳丽可人的花丛，就足以让人们对未来充满希冀。

在伦敦郊区的一个富人区，有一个热门景点——邱园。邱园现已关闭，但邱园里的花园却比以往更加热闹了。几条街外，一位名叫莱拉·芬顿的管理培训师每天至少在花园里待上两个小时。她说：“我早晨过来，煮点咖啡，然后检查我的那些幼苗。”她还和邻居们一起，组织运送了大量的植物和堆肥。

疫情隔离期间，园艺是英国人的一项重要活动，甚至上升为一个政治话题。政客们经常以花园为例，说明不同人群受疫情影响的程度各不相同。政府下令关闭公园时，政客们抗议这一做法剥夺了居住在高楼大厦里的人们仅有的绿地。英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊为取得保守党领导权而举行的竞选活动大部分都是在花园中心进行的，他有可能会考虑绿植销售商的请求，准许其重新开放。

“邱园园丁”是邱园附近一家植物商店，现在疫情期间只接受网上订购。但是，这丝毫不影响满怀期待的园艺爱好者们不时的光顾。店主丹尼尔·斯拉克说，一个当地人曾隔着栏杆向他购买植物幼苗，而且这并不是个例。              □

（译者单位：湖南师范大学）

1世界性园艺组织，创办于1804年。该学会既是园艺组织也是英国的慈善机构，致力于推动园林和园艺的发展。  2 with a vengeance猛烈地;彻底地。  3 in good nick状况良好。  4 manicure修剪。

5 pip以微弱优势击败，险胜。  6 dwarf使相形见绌。  7 villa〈英〉郊区住宅。  8在英国的郊区，每户人家一般都有前后两个花园。前花园主要用来供别人观赏，后花园则是主人独处和举行派对的私密空间。

9 stand sb in good stead对某人很有助益。  10英国皇家植物园林，坐落在伦敦三区的西南角，是世界上著名的植物园之一，也是植物分類学研究中心。始建于1759年，原是英皇乔治三世的皇太后奥格斯汀公主的私人皇家植物园，1840年起逐步对公众开放。  11 unevenly不均衡地。

12 tower-block高层建筑;公寓大楼。