The people who say reality TV can't heal you haven't watched Summer House season 10. Or The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Or all three parts of the Scandoval reunion.
Maybe those words mean nothing to you. Or they mean everything to you (in which case, we should be friends). The point is, some people just don't understand how watching people hurl insults, wine and credit cards at each other can be as soothing as a warm bath.
And yet. Yet! Recently I found myself healed by a very different kind of viewing experience. No diabolical dinner party games. No Andy Cohen telling everyone "one at a time!" during a reunion. Instead, it was a quiet show starring this guy, his golden retriever and gardens.
I'm talking about Gardener's World, the 64-season (and counting) series hosted by gardener, writer and broadcaster Monty Don. Each hour-long episode starts and ends with Monty working at the two-acre garden he and his wife cultivated from scratch over the course of nearly 50 years. While Monty works on seasonal tasks, like sowing seeds, staking new plants, pruning dead wood or dividing root balls, the other segments travel to other UK gardens where Brits show off the fruits of their labor (sometimes literal fruit, but most of the time flowers). Monty, who joined as host in 2003, brings us home by ending each episode with his signature "gardening jobs" so we can put some of his skills into practice.
I had followed Monty on Instagram for years, admittedly just for his goldens. But recently, after a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, I needed decompression on a different level. Usually I go outside to my garden to unwind. Or I watch TV. This time I felt like a whiny kid who wanted both. At the same time.
Hello, Gardener's World. It's a quiet show (streaming on BritBox but also some episodes are available on YouTube) with little music save for some ASMR: birds chirping, soil being poured into a pot, or Ned jogging on the garden path. Like a warm bath, yessss.
If you think about it, the Brits account for a good chunk of the healing TV/telly space. The Great British Bake Off is for competition show viewers. Some people dig Peaky Blinders. The Office and Fleabag were peak cringe comedy. "Chicken Shop Date" is the awkward dating show we never knew we needed. And before the US got its grubby, sanitizing paws all over it, Black Mirror was a deeply sinister and prophetic techno-paranoia spiral (complimentary) that was a balm for some the way horror films can be.
I love snark and dark, but on this day when I needed a whole bucket of healing, I surprised myself by tuning into something so...wholesome.
Gardener's World is not so elementary that they dumb it down and not so advanced that you feel overwhelmed. Monty holds a sweet middle ground; he's like the teacher in school who made everyone feel like they could do big things, whether they were the ace student or the delinquent. He's gentle, encouraging and excited by everything in the garden. His subtle, understated energy (how very British) is infectious. His narration, backed by years in broadcasting, is like honey. And he loves golden retrievers. In fact, a lot of people unabashedly tune in just for the dogs. Monty calls his current golden, Ned, "a media tart," who receives letters and gifts from fans.
When I turn on Gardener's World and see Monty rolling his wheelbarrow, Ned following behind and the soft sway of the plants around them, I feel like I just got a hug.
It's the same feeling I get when I walk past my chamomile patch in my front yard. I love all the plants in my garden for different reasons, but right now, chamomile hits. Maybe it's because I flunked the first time I tried growing chamomile (she hated being in a pot), and she's thriving now. Or the fact that I get so much satisfaction from raking my fingers through the patch to collect flowers. Or the fact that after years of consuming only dried chamomile, the taste and apple-y scent of fresh chamomile blooms has blown my mind. (Its etymology stems from the Greek chamaimelon, which means "earth apple.")
Much like Gardener's World, she's a gentle healer.
But don't be fooled. And don't be swayed by stale chamomile tea bags that have sat on grocery shelves for too long. Chamomile, or Matricaria chamomilla a.k.a. German chamomile, can be powerful medicine.
The anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antispasmodic, carminative, mildly sedating German chamomile is the one to call if you need help with:
- stress, anxiety, irritability or weepiness
- insomnia or nightmares (try a pre-bedtime tea)
- stomach aches (lovely before or after a meal; if your digestion is sluggish, aim for 30-60 minutes pre-meal)
- menstrual cramps (esp. when paired with ginger)
- rashes, eczema, irritation or swelling of the skin
- a complaining, whining, demanding or teething child
Herbalist Matthew Wood says it's a great herb for "babies of any age." He also recommends the fresh herb when you want to relax (because fresh chamomile's volatile oils like azulene are still intact) and the dried herb when you want stomach support (dried chamomile is more bitter).
Speaking of babies, my 13-year-old golden retriever has gotten more anxious in the last couple of years. So with guidance from a few of my per herbal books, including The Herbal Dog, I made this "treat" for him: chamomile extracted in plant-derived glycerine. Not every herb extracts well in glycerine—many do better with alcohol—but many of the constituents in chamomile can be extracted well this way.
Try 1-2 tsp of dried chamomile steeped in 8 ounces of hot water, covered, for ~20 minutes (1 heaping tbsp if using fresh chamomile). Currently I'm loving fresh chamomile flowers with fresh lemon balm leaves. The longer steep time means it'll be a bit bitter, but that's when it's especially helpful for digestive woes. If you want to take your tea to the tub, add a quart of strong chamomile tea to your Epsom salt bath.
If you want to grow chamomile yourself, it's often listed as an annual, meaning it last one season, but some say it can reseed and come back. This is my first go at growing chamomile myself, so jury's out.
I haven't yet tested this gardening hack, but I think Monty Don would appreciate this tip from 19th century physician and homeopath William Thomas Fernie:
"It is remarkable that each chamomile is a plant physician, since nothing contributes so much to the health of a garden as a number of chamomile herbs dispersed about it. If another plant is drooping and apparently dying, in nine cases out of ten it will recover if you place a herb of chamomile near it."
SOURCES
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