Quiet - the Power of Introverts and Gardens

Do you feel a pang of guilt when you are asked to go out but you would rather stay home and read, garden, draw, quilt or simply drink a cup of tea?

 You are not alone.

You are an introvert - given to pondering, creating and being. Many gardeners and garden lovers are, at heart, introverts.

 In 'Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking' Susan Cain looks at where we fall on the introvert-extrovert spectrum...She explores how “closeted introverts” like Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates have expended enormous energy on trying to pass as extroverts in a culture that rewards extroversion.

Wow - I can relate!

Most garden lovers, I think, are, by their nature, introverts. We adjust and work hard to pass as extroverts but deep down, we just like to create and putter and appreciate music, art, plants, and more.

We work hard to meet the extrovert standard but, truly, we just want to be alone.

 Cain  spent the past seven years researching this book and shows how we undervalue introverts and ponders how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal in the twentieth century and explores its far-reaching effects. She questions the American business culture, where forced collaboration replaces innovation. And she looks at a  high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks...

A serene Garden can recharge introverts who put themselves out there as 'pretend extroverts'.

Where would we be if the Beatles only had extroverts Paul McCartney and Ringo but not the introverts John Lennon and George Harrison?

and George, a true introvert,  loved his garden....