Do you remember somewhere as a child you felt truly safe?
My childhood sanctuary isn’t made of bricks and mortar but of bark and leaf and earth and fruit.
The house itself is insignificant compared to the gardens…
As children we spent most of our time outdoors, so it probably shouldn’t have surprised me as an adult returning home to find in being in this garden helps my stresses melt away.
This has become my goal… To establish a garden which evokes within the same calm.
Hello everyone… I have missed writing here and sharing your stories (and gardens!).
Oh how I love black dog free moments. When I started writing this post I was in one. Back into the hole now waiting it out.
Those of you with depression will probably relate… I wish you weren’t able to, but knowing you aren’t alone can be comforting.
There are the moments vital to remember when you manage depression.
To record however you can. Write. Photograph. Draw. Video. Anything!
Holding onto these memories however you can is desperately important.
These are the moments to look back on when hope for respite is in short supply.
When you need a tangible reminder that yes! moments of joy exist.
They may be small.
They may be shortlived.
But they happened.
Above all… Moments like these will return in time.
Do you record small joys too? How do you remember them best?
For me it is in photographs. Curiously enough the last moment I planned to share was what gives me hope now.
I visited a brick display yard of all places and found a garden of sorts.
Today I need these photos. I hope you enjoy them too.
Love Nat
Hello everyone…
Well it is heading towards Christmas… That chaotic time of year where it is easy for the black dog (depression) to sink it’s teeth in and refuse to budge.
Worse somehow are the moments where you KNOW you should feel happy but instead you feel numb or angry or just exhausted.
If you’ve never read M Johnstone’s books they’re worth looking at.
Which brings us to the question… How do you be present when depression has you numb?
A common idea is a gratefulness diary. To put in words and images what you are thankful for in this moment. To record it and acknowledge that ok right now you might feel nothing but the depression will ease eventually and one day you will read the words and see the pictures and feel again.
On that note it’s time to share what I’m thankful for today…
1. Thank you to the neighbour who planted this red flowering gum on the verge. I drive past it almost every day and the red of the flowers never fails to make me slow down and look.
2. The WA Christmas Trees (Nuytsia floribunda) are in bloom! Nothing says Christmas to me like this native tree. I’m yet to grow one for my block. Tricky to establish as it is a parasitic tree but so worth the effort. One day soon this will remind me to feel hopeful and excited for the experiment to come.
3. THE Jacaranda driveway! On the drive to my block of land I pass this. It is the reason I grow Jacaranda trees and persist with getting them through the first few winters (they don’t like our frost but once established are fine). Absolutely beautiful…
4. Hobbies and work to keep me busy and too tired to worry… An assortment of succulents growing for my Mum in Law. Trenches I’m digging for the downpipes to capture water for the new tank. And of course the progress on our home. Almost there. Keep hopeful!
Best of all…
I am thankful for being able to share these places and photos with you all. Perhaps an image might give you a boost today too.
I’m thankful for my family who keep me company on my neverending “plant hunt”, encourage my enthusiasm when it is present and push me to keep trying when it is not.
What are you grateful for today?
❤ Nat
During the long, hot days of a WA Summer it is easy to focus on the negative…
The flies! Sweating. Dusty. Hot cars. Sunburn. Did I mention the flies?
Do you take the time to find things to be thankful for? Not always? Me neither.
And yet today I found myself thinking of winter gardens elsewhere in the world. The gloomy depression that can settle within us from a lack of sunlight.
Instead of the bad this inspired a different perspective. An opportunity to share some brightness from our part of the world to yours.
From Western Australia with love.
Hello everyone (fellow gardeners and black thumbs equally welcome).
For those that follow Mr Propagator’s Six on Saturday you know what’s coming….
For those who have yet to meet Mr P, check out his blog here and join the SOS crew (because we’re awesome).
Righto… Into the garden.
1. Jacaranda season begins ❤.
Blue skies. Weather is heating up. Single days of 35°c but not week long heat just yet. It’s coming. Purple blossoms everywhere you look. Nothing says Christmas is coming like seeing the pop of purple in every fourth yard.
2. Gailardia ‘Goblin’
I’ve never grown blanket flowers before. This one was in the shade of an Acacia and is liking it’s “hot but not baking” spot. Such a happy flower. I will grow more.
3. Honeycomb from hive one of two.
Hubby added another box to the bee hive and cleaned out a little honeycomb for the kids to suck the honey out of.
It is amazing to see the bees break these down and reclaim the wax rather than produce more from scratch.
4. Irish Strawberry Tree.
Mislead by the common name hubby dearest decided to buy this Arbutus unedo for me. I’m curious to see if the fruit is as bad as others say. Nevermind. Look at the gorgeous new growth! Worth growing anyway because it makes me happy.
5. Mulch! Tis the season to be mulching.
Given summer here means weeks of 35°c we use layers of cardboard and paper scraps from home. Then a thin layer of pea straw held down with some mushroom compost. It seems to keep most plants alive. Fingers crossed.
6. Bauhinia (orchid tree).
Flowers from our neighbor’s bauhinia tree. Seed pods over the fence are fair game once they ripen 😊. I’ve got seedlings potted on from last year’s seed ready for our block in Autumn.
Well that’s me for this week. It may be hot but the sun does good things for my mood mostly. Maybe in 3 months when I’m over Summer I’ll feel different but for now I’m enjoying the colour.
Hope to share in your gardens too.
❤ Nat
Well it is finally happening!
It has been a long four year wait to begin building our home. By February we will move to our home.
And oh how my heart has longed for this day.
I’ve always believed some people (like my Dad and like me) need a connection with our environment. A piece of earth to set root and belong. Since leaving home I have been adrift. Home has been with my husband and children but the city is not a healthy place for me.
Driving to our block (5 acres in wheatbelt Western Australia) my black dog curiously curls up for a time and sleeps.
Opening the gates I come home to my garden and sanctuary.
Steel frame home. Simple. We have 5 acres of garden… Why would I want to be indoors?
The frog pond we dug and cemented is taking shape. The citrus are settling in and snapdragons and stattice are keeping the bees busy.
The plants hubby and I have propagated and gotten through long scorching summers. Jacarandas and Brachychiton (Flame trees) will one day flower at the same time. A mass of purple and red.
Mostly trees to cope with extreme heat and our long dry summers.
Others build the house first but we’ve had no choice but to wait so our garden has come first.
I prefer it. The windows frame views I have imagined for years.
Right now I am chaos personified. Exhausted.
But the views make it worth the wait. Help me keep patient but also hopeful. Now we know where the septics will go I can plant my next orchard.
Soon. Be patient Nat.
I will get to wake up and walk outside into the garden I love best. It’s not fancy. But it is home.
A belated hello to you all.
My black dog has been snapping persistently at my heels.
And yet the process of documenting the wildflowers out this year has helped me.
On bad days Miss 3 and I head off in the car and stop whenever a splash of colour catches my eye.
I could go on and on.
There is something peaceful about walking off into the bush and taking photos that gives me peace.
Thank you to everyone who gave me a warm welcome back and kind messages.
I hope you feel inspired to spend your weekend flower hunting too 😊.
❤ Nat
I have been impatiently waiting for this bride. Watching the clusters of drooping white buds. Anticipation. I’ve never seen her in bloom.
At last! She has finally decided to turn her face to the sun.
Now she glows.
I have never seen a lovelier bride. Have you? 
Orchids! Sundews! Leschenaultia! The wildflowers of Western Australia are starting to bloom.
Be still my heart. ❤
The timing couldn’t be more perfect. I need distraction and gentle exercise. Fresh air and all the colours of the rainbow.
Bushwalking at a snail pace to hunt for native orchids and treasures emerging is a balm to my soul (and the very very sore joints).
Enough words… Time to just look and enjoy.
I hope these flowers from my block of land in WA make you feel as good as they make me feel.
I just want to share photo after photo. These flowers are small but oh so beautiful and there are more photos to come. Watch this space 🌸.
For anyone wondering… Yep I’m still alive… Just letting myself get lost in the garden for a while.
Words are escaping me lately. So I’ll go with pictures.
Arctosis “Hannah” starting to flower. Red is my favourite colour. Bright and cheerful. Our house will one day be painted red too. I want an explosion of colour. Bright. Cheerful. Happy. I want to look outside and feel warm always.
Driving to our block I saw a flash of RED. Miss 3 and I stopped and admired the first of the native pea flowers. I will find the name in time. It hit me this place is safe and home. Even the native flowers reach me within that dark place.
It feels like a lifetime I’ve waited for my scarlet leschenaultia to bloom. And at last it is here! Beautiful.
Taking my kids to the river park I spotted this little beauty! I’ve never seen a mushroom like this!
Crown of thorns. The flower is small but one day it will be an impressive shrub.
Today my thoughts are caught up in a whirl of red flowers. Too busy to feek yuck within.
What is your favourite red flower?
The Depression Free Garden 