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| Cordyline Australis - Palm like tree! |
For close to 16 years I have been working on my garden which
turned it from just a patch of grass with a fence either side, to an
established space that can whisk you (in your mind) to far off destinations –
if you use your imagination. My garden
also reflects the amount of work that has been lovingly put into it over the years and is full of palm trees, scented flowers, evergreens and a plum tree. I wouldn’t say that I am an expert, but over
the years I have gained much knowledge in how to look after plants to get the best out of them. My garden is about 40% brought
as small plants 20% from seeds and 10% as gifts from the birds and 30%
grown from cuttings I have received from family and friends.
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| We need balance in our lives |
We grew up in an apartment/flat as children and my mother
had many houseplants dotted around the house that she would tend to. I would see her lovingly water and clean the
plants on a daily basis and this action promoted their growth and in turn she
would then propagate the plants. I was
always amazed that from one plant many generations could flourish. When I moved out of my parents and into my
own flat mum would give me plants that she had been growing and I in turn
developed a love for plants, and went out and got my own. I was
amazed at how the right conditions could make a big difference to a plant that
grew and blossomed to one that failed to thrive and died. Back in those days the houseplants of choice
were the Swiss cheese plant, the Rubber plant and the Spider plant which are
all easy enough to look after yet give some spectacular results.
Graduating to a Garden
When I started a family of my own I was faced with a 100
foot garden, Sekani who was then just 2 years and determined to be my helper and my houseplant experience to lean on. I was overwhelmed at first with the size and
the job at hand but knew that if I had a plan of what I wanted, read up about
how to go about it, I could make the garden become what I wanted over time.
Some of the main things I wanted in the garden was colour, scent, birds and
trees and a way to provide privacy from the neighbours each side. Once I knew what I wanted shaping the garden
to how I wanted it to look became the adventure and I was always up for the
challenge of trying something new.
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| Tools for the job |
Each year of tending to the garden brought different
challenges and blessings. My very first
plants that I grew from seed were sunflowers.
These plants are the most gratifying and a very easy to grow. With their
big heads of flowers I was able to grow 9 foot specimens, and provided much
food in the winter months for the visiting birds. I experimented over the years
with different plant combinations, learnt to understand the soil and what was
necessary to promote growth. I decided
quite early on that I didn’t want to have one of those gardens where you had to
bring plants in for the winter months or dig up bulbs, but that whatever the
season with the right care the plants were able to handle themselves despite
the elements.
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| Scented roses at the back of the garden |
I have shared in posts on my blog the many presents the
birds have brought in the form of seeds that turned into a wide variety of
flowering plants and trees, and I have either allowed them to grow where they
have fallen or relocated them to a more suitable place within the garden
Putting your back into it!
I find being in the garden to be a really relaxing
experience, but you have to work hard to get it to where you want it to be so
that you can enjoy it. I find maintaining
the garden an enjoyable experience, many a time I come out it is to either
relocate, plant or take a cutting, some much needed weeding and general tidying up, or
just to sit with a book and enjoy the sound of the birds.
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| Down side of the Cordyline - it sheds its leaves |
The weeds and fallen leaves are something that are always going
to be there so you need to make sure you keep on top of them and put things in
place to make it easier on yourself. For
me the weeds are a natural part of the cycle and there comes a time in our
lives when we have to look at what we are doing that really doesn’t add anything
to our lives, but instead like the weeds choke progress and development. We have to work hard for our dreams, spending
time on a regular basis to see them come to pass. The soil also needs to be nourished and you
have to take notice of those times when a plant needs that extra special boost.
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| plants now established |
As I talk about my time spent in the garden, I realise that
I have to remind myself to spend time ‘looking after’ myself. As the winter
approaches we loose the sunlight and the much needed vitamin D production that
would normally take place and so we need to ensure that our bodies are in tip
top form and have all the nourishment that it needs. In the
same way that I would have a clear out of the garden, looking to see which
weeds were trying to find a home amongst the plants I need to spend time in my
own life seeing what activities I am involved with or practises that need to be
stopped because they are not adding any benefits to my overall health and well
being.
Fruitful
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| Plum tree bearing fruit each year |
We have to make sure we are doing
those things that will enable us to be fruitful in all that we do. The bible tells us that God is the vine and
we are the branches and every now and then we have to prune that which is not
being productive or bearing fruit. We
can all think of activities that are a waste our time
and an ineffective use of our time, so what are you going to do about it? Take time this week to think about not only
what jobs need to be done in the garden, but what maintenance jobs you can do
in your own life to get things ready for the autumn and winter months and stay blessed!
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. John 15:1
..He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things...Acts 17:25
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