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…
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 fellow gardenistas (if that’s not a word it really should be!).
It is that time again. Time to visit the Propagator to see all the glorious sixes and add your own for viewing pleasure!
https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com
My six this week is partly my garden and partly my parents in law. We share cuttings and plants often so I love coming to visit and see what surprises are in store…
1. Aloe sp. I have this at the block but this is the parent plant in bloom.
2. Crassula ovata. Another parent plant. I have grown so very many plants from pups from this plant. I love the flowers.
3. Not a plant but definately in the garden. The woodfired smoker my Father in law made (he is a steelworker). Pork roasts, soaked in brine, smoked for hours and then boiled and cooled. Mmmmmmm. He made us one too for our block. Food and gardening is the best combination.
4. Lantana montevidensis (the non prohibited groundcover species) in flower. I love these even if they don’t smell very nice. Common Lantana (L. camara) is a declared weed in WA.
5. Euphorbia flanaganii (Medusa’s Head). I grew this one from a piece broken off my Mum’s plant and gave it to my Father in law. He loves it and it has just thrived in the shady spot he keeps it.
6. My little friend at the block. I was collecting coffee rock for the dry stack retaining wall this week and this little cutie was hiding under a rock. I took a photo and then replaced the scorpion and the rock. 
Well that’s my neck of the woods for this week. I look forward to checking out all of your sixes too!
The Depression Free Garden 