I fell out of love…..

Despite the perfect circumstances, I’ve been resisting something lately.

If you’re based in the UK, you’ll know we’ve had the warmest spring in a very long time. 

It’s been glorious. Blue skies, gentle breezes, sunshine that lingers just a little longer each evening. 

Perfect gardening weather.

And yet… I couldn’t bring myself to step outside and enjoy it.

You see, recently I’ve fallen out of love with my garden.

I’ve found myself feeling disconnected and demotivated. The garden, once my happy place, became something I avoided. I’d look out and all I could see were the things that weren’t working. The mistakes we made when we first designed it. The tiredness in the soil, the overgrowth, the mess.

That disconnection hurt more than I realised because gardening has always meant something more to me.

As a child, being in the garden with my mum was my happy place. 

She was a keen and very good gardener. She had that magic touch, and her love for the outdoors was infectious. 

I’m not quite as skilled, but I do……well,I did…..share the same joy she did. 

Gardening had always been a way to feel grounded, connected, and calm.

So this weekend, I decided to step back in. No pressure to make it perfect, just a willingness to begin. 

Gloves on, secateurs in hand. I weeded. 

I swept. 

I pruned. 

I planted.

I got my hands dirty.

And I wasn’t alone.

My daughter joined me. And in those simple, shared moments – laughing, planting, chatting – I realised I was reconnecting in more ways than one. 

Not just with the garden, but with the legacy of joy my mum passed down to me, and that I now get to pass on to my daughter.

It reminded me that sometimes, we fall out of love with things we once cared deeply about – not because they’ve changed, but because our perspective has. 

And more importantly, it reminded me of something essential about life and leadership.

Because the truth is: the grass is always greener where you water it.

Here’s what that means in a leadership context:

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1. Tend to What Matters, Even When It’s Not Perfect

Just like my garden, leadership isn’t always well-designed from the start. 

We outgrow systems, structures, and sometimes even our own ways of thinking. 

It’s easy to focus on what’s not working. But leadership – like gardening – isn’t about achieving perfection. It’s about showing up anyway. 

Digging in. Caring, even when things feel overgrown or uninspiring. 

That’s when transformation begins.

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2. You Only Reap What You Sow (and Water)

Gardens don’t bloom without effort. Neither do thriving teams, strong relationships, or sustainable leadership practices. 

What you water, grows. 

Where you place your attention and energy, you’ll see life and momentum.

As soon as I started tending to the garden again, I didn’t just see the improvement – I felt it. 

The same is true in leadership. Invest in your people. 

Nourish your vision. 

Water your own sense of purpose.

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3. Seasons of Disconnection Are Natural

Winter happens – for nature and for us.  

I recently heard the former England Rugby player Jonny Wilkinson share that we don’t go ‘into’ nature.  We are already part of it.  

We just either choose to connect or choose to disconnect.  

So if nature goes in cycles, then we do too.

There are seasons when our energy dips, when we feel disillusioned or uninspired. 

That’s not failure; it’s just part of the cycle. 

What matters is not how long you’ve been disconnected, but that you choose to reconnect.

 And often, it’s the smallest acts –  a little time, a little effort, a little care – that reignite something bigger.

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So if you’ve fallen out of love with some part of your life or leadership lately, know this: you’re not alone. And it doesn’t have to stay that way.

Sometimes, you just need to get your hands dirty again to remember what you loved in the first place.

Because the grass really is greener where you water it.

What might need watering in your life and work?