Kareem and Dan coordinated their free time to team up for a garden tidy mission on this April weekend, serving a remarkable Hackney artist in residence.

So smooth were arrangements, up until then, our new gardening partnership even managed to sync with one of the first hot and sunny Sundays of the year. But then, gloves and cool drinks at the ready, we proceeded to ring a neighbour's door bell by mistake, before we successfully located the correct property (next door) and introduced ourselves to Ms P., whose garden we had signed up to help with.

Ms P. presented the two main tasks she wished us to do: (1) a major cut-back of the tall privet hedge running along the border she shared with the same neighbour we'd briefly just acquainted; and (2) thinning back the lilies that were taking over the front flowerbed space, to the detriment of the mature rose shrubs and their chances of blooming.

So, pruning tasks set for us with purposes both practical and pretty.

Ms P. moved slowly and would be unable to push back an overgrown hedge on her way up the path to her front steps. Additionally, her thoughts were with the potential to revive her favourite roses, and any other plants overshadowed and outgrown, now the hedge and foliage were lined up for the chop.

Chopping we executed with freshly sharpened shears, still requiring a strong snap of the blades to cut through the thicker stems of the woodier privet branches. Looking down from her upstairs window, Ms P. encouraged us to go further, so shears slid in again, closer and deeper, sending leaves fluttering down to lay a soft carpet of new green, strewn along the front path.

Around to the flowerbed side, lying parallel to the street; those lush clumps of lily leaves disguised gnarled corms (little bulbs) down below. These had to be prized out with the twists, pokes and pulls from a medium-sized garden fork, rather strained by the experience. Some corms had strings of twisted tubular roots reaching under and across into rose soil territory. But, with persistence, the clearance re-introduced some air and light, with the space now ready for new growth.

Kareem and I alternated back and forth, switching between the different muscles required for shearing the hedge versus digging out lily corms. Reaching the sweeping up stage, Ms P. returned and was pleased to see the reconfigured garden scene that had taken shape. The big hedge haircut has restored the width of her path for easier access from the street-side gate up to her front door. the rebalanced flowerbed now offers the chance for a more rounded fulfillment of her front garden's plants and flowers, roses included.

It had felt to Kareem and I like a rather severe intervention at times, but one that will set-up the picture-perfect views to come. Cruelty done, kindness to come.

Moving onto consider the bigger picture, Ms P. was keen to present the greater good a well-tended garden can achieve: well beyond the immediate vicinity, over the hedge and out through the wrought-iron fencing. There are the physical health and wellbeing benefits for local residents and passers-by, thanks to the improved air quality effects and aesthetic beauty on show. There is the way a spic and span frontage to one home that can set a standard to inspire others to grow those same health benefits. Even reported crime rates can supposedly lower in areas where gardens are well maintained.

I have since become a front garden upkeep ambassador 😀.

Ms P.'s passion for gardening and community was still shining when she offered us a refreshing ginger cordial within the comparatively shaded interior of her home. Still clear to see were the many canvases hung on her walls: her own paintings. Ms P., the artist, shared a few tales of adventure with us, befitting somebody of her distinguished age, which she openly and proudly shared. As an experienced nonagenarian, without the strength to dig her own garden, her energy still flows strongly through the observations of plants and people she has known, and through the paintings she has made along the way. And continues to create.

Ms P. appeared pleased with our help that hot and sunny Sunday afternoon, restoring a safer, neater and fairer balance for her to step through and watch over, during the summer ahead. Never mind the sweaty graft Kareem and I had pitched in with, clearly Ms P.'s wisdom and verve provided the main inspiration to behold. I was delighted to help her, with Kareem, bringing out the best in her surroundings.