London has been aesthetically monopolised. The black ice of PC monitors and the towering, sterilised skyscrapers have become furniture in our lives. We don’t even notice them anymore, unaware perhaps of how our surroundings are swamping our psyches, grinding us down.
Patch, then. A cursory glance at the website tells you it’s an online garden centre for beginners but there’s more, much more. Their appetizing little booklet is worth a read, an informative beginner’s guide to plant welfare that never confuses nor patronises. There is a noticeable sense of love about patch; a caring spirit saturates their words.
They are concerned with human beings despondency toward nature and endeavour to make gardening a more accessible pastime. This isn’t simply a cold plants-for-cash business and neither does their customer service seem forced, the planned aftercare and guidance for beginner gardeners is more about passion than it is profit.
Image: Patch Website
We recently published an article about the Power of Plants and the positive impact they can have on our health both practically and psychologically. Patch concurs that plants should be ubiquitous. Some tropical ferns for your bathroom or aloe vera on tap in the bedroom, plants can be domesticated if you give them enough love, light and liquid.
Humans are instinctually drawn to these organic ventilation systems. The airways of London are clogged with invisible chemicals. An office or garden plant would selflessly beaver away at purifying the air its human colleagues need. Just the other day we here at The JA ordered a rubber plant named Robin from Patch. He’s right at home stood on a shared desk area. His soaring presence at the centre of the office soothes me as I am writing this piece. (His smaller cronies sit atop a window ledge.)
Image: Patch Website
Stylistically speaking, the striking beauty of The Barbican Conservatory has sparked a silent revolution and Instagram feeds seem awash with natural light and curling, green leaves. Patch is an earnestly ardent company riding a wholesome trend.
It’s the little touches, though, that win you over. The plants have their own names (ours being Robbin) and it makes the experience of choosing and nurturing your plants that touch more personal. Whether it’s Harry, Jazz, Venus, Fleur or even Rapunzel, these plants are your friends, and, like proper mates should, they’ll enrich your life no end.
