For me, it used to be kettle on, tea for two, then back to bed for another cheeky five minutes. My slumbering other half might have stirred by this point and be reaching out for his mug, blinking like a sleepy mole.

These days, it’s all change. I go straight into the garden. Breath in the morning smells, examine the snail damage from the night before and generally take an inventory of what’s going on out there. It’s lovely, even though the sun has rarely reached it and barefoot, in my nighty, it’s chilly. But this isn’t proper gardening time. I resist the urge to check my tomato plants for aphids (here’s one in the picture), or pinch out any shoulder branches, or even excavate tiny slugs from my strawberries. Otherwise I’d never get to work. Instead I wander around taking deep breaths, listening to birds and wondering if the neighbours think I’m a loon.

If I was a scientist, I’d say something about how taking deep breaths outside helps you benefit from extra oxygen which gets you off to a good start. If I was an anti-caffeine freak, I’d say it was almost as good as a shot of espresso. As it is, I’ll simply say that since taking up the habit my days have been calmer, more pleasurable altogether. This week, I’m nominating my tiny Hackney garden as my favourite green space.

If you have somewhere similarly inspirational, please nominate it for our 2008 Green Spaces Travel Awards. It could be somewhere you’ve stayed on holiday, a lunch hour hideaway or simply a journey that you’ve taken. If we feature it either in The Times or timesonline as part of our monthly selection, you’ll win a copy of Alastair Sawday’s Green Places to Stay. Click here to enter.