Fiann Ó Nualláin muses on the peace and meditation the garden has to offer at this time of year

I have been as busy as a monastic scribe recently, working early to late, on a new book and translating some bardic poetry into inspiration for a garden I hope to create.

All the while, yearning to get outside and soothe my eyes on some tangible nature. I work in silence when I write so after long spells I do crave a bit of birdsong, traffic noise, Schubert or AC/DC — anything to break the quiet.

The trill notes of blackbirds and thrushes echo through the poems that I have been reading, and I have had their song in my head for days now.